Theological  Bookseller,  \ 

ican  Tract  Society  House,  / 

/b.   142  J^assau-street,        ^ 

NEW-YORK.  5 


fc>wt»«iM*?:^^jMMnr>t  -—i*— —M^^^^- 


^ 


.\< 


.^/^;3 


Socirts 

OF 

ZNQuiR-sr    ON   nnsszosrs 

AND  ^ 

THE   STATE   OF  RELIGION. 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

Theological   Seminary, 

PRINCETON,    N.  J. 

Snelf,  *VA4-A..,. 

Book, M,_,  V.<-S* 


NARRATIVE 


OF  A 

JOURNEY  THROUGH  THE 
UPPER  PROVINCES  OF  INDIA, 

FROM 

CAXaCUTTA    TO    BOinBAlT;    1824-1825. 

(WITH  NOTES  UPON  CEYLON,) 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  A  JOURNEY  TO 

MADRAS  AND  THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES,  1826, 

AND 

LETTERS  WRITTEN  IN  INDIA. 

BY  THi:  LATE 

RIGHT  REV.  REGINALD  HEBER,  D.  D. 

LORD   BISHOP  OF  CALCUTTA. 

IN  TWO  VOLUMES.— VOL.  II. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

CAREY,  LEA  &  CAREY, — CHESNUT  STREET. 

SOLD,    IN    NEW    YORK,    BT    G.    &    C.    CAUVILI, IN    UOSTON,    l\Y 

3ICNR0E  &  FRANCIS. 

1829, 


^ 


« 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

VOLUME  II. 
CHAPTER  XXII. 

JYEPOOR  TO  AJMERE. 

Climate — Government — City — Palace — Durbar — Presents 
from  the  Rannee — Revenues — Umeer — Lake — Great  Pa- 
lace ai)d  Fort — Death  of  the  Soubahdar — Departure  from 
Jyepoor — Manners  of  the  Rajpoots — Children  of  the  Sun — 
Salt  Lake— Opium — Nuptial  Procession — Message  of  the 
Rannee       ----------3 

CHAPTER  XXIIL 

AJMERE  TO  NEEMUCH. 

Ajmere — Remarkable  Fortress — Mussulman  place  of  Pil- 
grimage—  ILncampment  of  Brinjarrees — Nusseerabad — 
Bhats  and  Charuus — Captain  Todd — Booiees — Bheel  man- 
ner of  fishing — Biieels — Ranah  of  Oodeypoor — Chittore— 
Anecdote  of  Rannee — Marble  Tower — Night  Blindness         25 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

NEEMUCH  TO  BARODA. 

Neemuch — Character  of  Rajpoots  and  Bheels — Good  effects 
of  British  rule — Boras — Confirmation — Pertaubghur — 
Manner  of  collecting  Opium — Heat,  and  parched  state  of 
the  Country — Festival  of  the  Hoolee — Bheel  Huts — Palace 
of  Banswarra — Murder  of  Female  Infants — Visit  from  the 
Rawul — Jain  Temple — -Sham-fight  of  Bheels — Visit  from 
the  Raja  of  Barreah — Dreadful  Famine — Brinjarrees        -    54 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

BARODA  TO   BOMBAY. 

Entrance  into  Baroda — Namdar  Khan — -Cantonment — - 
Church — Character  of  the  Guicwar — Consecration  of  the 
Church — Visit  to  the  (inicwar — Visits  from  Natives — Guic- 
war returns  the  Visit — Departure  from  Baroda — Crossing 
the  Mhye — Kholees — Swaamee  Narain — Hot  Winds — In- 


4  CONTENTS. 

•  terview  with  Swaamee  Narain — Arrival  at  Kairah — Insalu- 
brity of  Climate— Jain  Temple — Departure  from  Kairah — 
Dirficuky  in  crossing  the  Mhye — Broach — Banyan  Tree  on 
an  Island  in  the  Nerbudda — Surat — Embarkation — Arri- 
val at  Bombay         ----..__       95 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

BOMBAY. 

Island  of  Elephanta — Salsette — Gora  bunder — Bassein — Cave 
— Temple  of  Kennery — Pariel — Oran  Oatang — Journey  to 
Poonah — Gh  us — Cave  at  Carlee — Poonan — Conquest  and 
Government  of  the  Deckan — Consecration  of  the  Church 
at  Titnnah — Mr.  Elphinstone— Description  of  the  Island  of 
Bombay — Departure  ----_--  133 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 
Journal  of  a  Tour  in  Ceylon  -.-«-.  172 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

CALCUTTA  TO   SADRAS. 

Voyage — In'alid  Officers  and  Soldiers  from  Rangoon— Cata- 
marans—  /ladras — Schools — Native  Christians — Visit  to 
Pri.ice  \/eem  Khan — Sir  Thomas  Munro — St.  Thomas's 
Mount — Maha-Balipoor-^Sadras       -       -       -       ,       -  20a 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


To  the  Right  Hon.  Charles  W.  Williams  Wynn,  October 

29,  1823 223 

To  the  same,  December  1,  1823 228 

To  Miss  Dod,  December  15,  1823 231 

To  the  Very  lev.  the  Dean  of  St.  Asaph,  Dec.  16,  1823  233 
To  R.  J.  Wilmot  Horton,  I^.sq.  December,  1823  -        -  237 

To  John  Thornton,  Esq.  January  9,  1824  -  -  -  -  241 
To  the  Honou-ahle  Mrs.  Douglas,  January  10,  1824     -        -  243 

To  Mrs.  Heber,  January  25,  1824 248 

To  tiie  Very  Uev.  the  Dean  of  St.  Asaj)h,  January  27,  1824  249 
To  Sir  Robert  H.  English,  Bart.  January  27,  1824  -  -  255 
To  the  Rev.  E.    T.  S.  Hornby,  Februarv  5,  1824  -        -  256 

To  Miss  Dod,  Frbruary  26,  1824  -'        -        -        -        -  258 

To  the  Right  Hon.  Charles  W.  Williams  Wynn,  May  27, 

1824 260 

To  Mrs.  R.  Hebcr,  June  28,  1824 262 


CONTENTS.  5 

to  the  Same,  July  10,  1824 263 

To  the  Right  Hon.  Charles  W.  Williams  Wynn,  July  13, 
1824  -        -        -        -        -        -         "        -         --  264 

To  Mrs.  R.  Heber,  July  16,  1824 266 

To  the  Same,  July  18,  1824 267 

To  the  Same,  July  19,  1824 269 

To  the  Same,  July  21,  1824 270 

To  Miss  Stowe,  July,  1824  271 

To  Mrs.  R.  Heber;  July  28,  1824 273 

To  Lieutenant  Colonel  Alexander,  &c.  &c.  &c,  September 

24,  1824 -        -  274 

To  Mrs.  R.  Heber,  September  29,  1824       -        -        -        -  274 

To  the  Reverend  C.  Cholmondeley,  and  Mrs.  Cholmonde- 
lev,  October  19,  1824        -------  275 

To  Mrs.  R.  Heber,  December  1,  1824  -        -        -        -  279 

To  the  Same,  December  10,  1824 280 

To  the  Same,  January  22,  1825 281 

To  the  Same,  January  28,  1825 282 

To  the  Same,  Febiniary  18,  1825 283 

To  the  Right  Hon.  Charles  W.  Williams  Wynn,  March  1, 

1825 285 

To  Mrs.  R.  Heber,  March  13,  1825  -  -  -  -  -  290 
To  R,  J.  Wilmot  Horton,  Esq.  March  1,  1825      -        -        -  291 

To  the  Same,  May  10,  1825 -  305 

To  John  Thornton,  Esq.  May  12,  1825  -        -        -        -  307 

To  the  Right  Honourable  Lord  Grenville,  June  1,  1825  313 

To  the  Honourable  Mrs.  Douglas,  June  7,  1825  -  -  -  316 
To  the  Reverend  J,  J.  Blunt,  June  10,  1825  -        -        -  317 

To  Mrs.  Heber,  September  27,  1825 321 

To  the  Reverend  John  Mavor,  Vicar  of  Shawbury,  in  Shrop- 
shire, September-  28,  1825 323 

To  Richard  Heber,  Esq.  December  15,  1825  -  -  -  325 
To  the  Right  Hon.  Lord  GrenvHIe,  D(  ct  mber  24,  1825  -  328 
To  the  Reverend  Deocar  Schmidt,  December  23,  1825  -  329 
To  Mrs.  R.  Heber,  February  5,  1826  .        .        -        _  331 

To  His  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  February  15, 

1826 332 

To  Mrs.  R.  Heber,  Februarv  27,  1826         -        -        -        -  344 

To  the  Same,  March  7,  1826 546 

To  the  Same,  March  16,  1826 347 

To  the  Right  Honourable  C.  W.  Williams  Wynn,  March 

21,  1826 348 

To  the  Reverend  Charles  Shipley,  March  28,  1826  -  -  353 
To  R.  J.  Wilmot  Horton,  Esq.  April  1,  1826        -        _        .  354 


APPENDIX. 


Circular  of  Mar  Ignatius  Georgius,  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  to 
the  British  Authorities  in  India,  recommending  to  their  pro- 
tection his  Envoy,  M;^r  Atlianasius    -----  361 

To  Mar  Athanasius,  December,  1825 362 


6  CONTENTS.  ! 

Letter  from  Father  Abraham  of  Jerusalem,  (an  Envoy  sent 
with  visitorial  Powers,  by  the  Armenian  Patriarch  ot  Ara- 
rat, to  the  Eastern  Churches  of  that  Nation  in  India,)  to 
Mar  Athanasius;  sent  with  Bishop  Heber's  Syriac  Letter, 
by  the  hands  of  Mr.  Doran.     January  6,  1826  -        -  36S 

The  second  Letter  to  Mar  Athanasius,  March  22,  1826        -  3(8 
Letter  to  Mar  Philoxenus,  March  27,  1826  -        -        -  370 

Copy  of  a  Letter  from  the  Reverend  Thomas  Robinson  to 

Mar  Ignatius  Georgius,  Patriarch  of  Antioch,  1826  372 

Extracts  from  a  Letter  to  the  Reverend  WilHam  Roy,  Se- 
cretary to  the  Madras  Diocesan  Committee  of  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  October  19,  1826  373 

Index _-...-  38$ 

Glossary    -       -       -       -       -       -       --       -       -401 


NARRATIVE 


OF 


A  JOURNEY,  <^^» 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

JYEPOOR  TO  AJMERE. 

OLIMATE— GOVERNMENT CITY — 'PALACE— DURBAR— PRESENTS 

FROM  THE  RANNEE REVENUES—- UMEER LAKE GREAT 

PALACE  AND  FORT DEATH  OF  THE  SOUBAHDAR DEPARTURE 

FROM    JYEPOOR MANNERS     OF     THE     RAJPOOTS CHILDREN 

OF    THE  SUN ^SALT  LAKE— OPIUM NUPTIAL    PROCESSION 

MESSAGE  FROM  THE  RANNEE. 

The  climate  of  Jyepoor  is  described  as  less  disagreeable  than 
I  should  have  expected.  The  rains  are  never  heavy,  the  cold 
months  are  bracing  and  healthy,  and  the  hot  winds,  though 
fierce  during  the  day,  generally  cease  at  night.  The  court  and 
territory  are  in  a  very  distracted  state.  The  Rannee's  new 
minister  is  hated  by  a  majority  of  her  subjects,  and  her  au- 
thority, in  consequence,  is  very  uncertain  through  the  great- 
est part  of  her  possessions.-  The  people  into  whose  hands  she 
had  thrown  herself,  hate  and  fear  the  English,  and  a  great  pro- 
portion of  her  "  Thakoors,"  or  nobles,  shut  up  in  their  moun- 
tain castles,  pay  no  tribute,  obey  no  commands,  and  declare 
that  they  will  obey  none  till  the  young  Raja,  now  a  child  of 
six  years  old,  is  placed  on  the  musnud,  and  surrounded  by  a 
council  such  as  they  can  confide  in.  Though,  therefore,  the 
Rannee  has,  in  the  present  instance,  carried  her  point  with  our 
government,  and  obtained  its  concurrence  to  a  ministry  of  her 
own  choice,  there  is  little  probability  of  matters  going  on 
smoothly  much  longer  between  us,  or  even  if  the  British  were 
out  of  the  case,  of  the  present  people  being  long  able  to  hold 
the  reins  of  government.  Colonel  Raper  said  that  he  could 
easily  believe  that  it  was  want  of  power  which  made  her  va- 
keel fail  in  procuring  us  supplies,  and  in  compelling  the  atten- 
dance of  the  horsemen,  and  he  regretted  to  say  that  he  did 
not  know  where  to  look  for  more  serviceable  troops,  or  a  bet- 
ter proveditore.     He  advised  me,  therefore,  to  take  on  Skin- 

VOL.   II.— 1. 


4  JYEPOOR. 

ner's  horse  to  Nusseerabad,  as  mj  best  dependance  in  case  of 
need.  Of  any  serious  necessity  for  them  there  was,  thank 
Heaven,  very  little  likelihood,  inasmuch  as,  however  unruly 
the  country,  they  are  all  in  awe  of  the  numerous  cantonment 
of  Nusseerabad,  nor  was  my  present  escort  unequal  to  protect 
us  from  any  ordinary  plunderers. 

January  29.— This  morning  Colonel  Raper  took  me  to  see 
the  city  and  palace,  as  well  as  to  present  me  in  durbar.  The 
city  is  a  very  remarkable  and  striking  one.  Being  all  the  work 
of  one  sovereign,  Jye  Singh,  it  is  on  a  regular  plan,  with  one 
very  wide  street  crossed  at  right  angles  by  three  others,  with 
a  square  in  the  centre  of  the  town  which  serves  as  a  market- 
place. The  houses  are  generally  two  stories  high,  but  some 
three  and  four,  with  ornamented  windows  and  balconies,  and 
many  of  them  finely  carved.  They  are  interspersed  with  some 
handsome  temples  in  the  same  style  with  those  of  Benares,  and 
in  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  adjoining  the  palace,  is  a  very 
noble  tower  or  minaret  of,  I  should  suppose,  200  feet  high. 
The  town  is  tolerably  clean,  but  a  great  part  of  the  houses  are 
in  a  state  of  decay.  Still,  however,  it  has  a  population  of  60,- 
000  souls.  The  palace,  with  its  gardens,  occupies  about  one- 
sixth  part  of  the  city.  It  presents  to  the  streets  an  extremely 
high  front  of  seven  or  eight  stories,  diminishing  in  the  centre 
to  something  like  a  pediment,  and  flanked  by  two  towers  of 
equal  height  topped  with  open  cupolas.  Within  are  two  spa- 
cious courts,  and  many  smaller  ones,  surrounded  by  cloisters 
of  stone  pillars,  except  in  the  verandas  leading  to  the  princi- 
pal rooms,  which  are  of  marble.  The  gardens,  which  I  was 
first  taken  to  see,  are  extensive,  and,  in  their  way,  extremely 
beautiful,  full  of  fountains,  cypresses,  palm-trees,  and  flower- 
ing shrubs,  with  a  succession  of  terraces  and  alcoves,  none  of 
them,  singly  taken,  in  good  taste,  but  altogether  extremely 
rich  and  striking.  Two  very  large  and  handsome  tanks  ter- 
minate the  grounds  towards  the  north.  The  garden  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  high  embattled  wall,  having  a  terrace  at  the  top 
like  that  of  Chester,  and  beneath  it  a  common  passage,  (as  one 
of  the  ministers  of  state,  who  accompanied  us,  told  me,)  for 
the  Zennana  to  walk  in.  I  was  introduced  to  some  of  these 
ministers,  or  "sirdars,"  during  my  progress  through  the  pa- 
lace, under  their  several  official  names  of  "•  Mouchtar," 
"  Bukshee,"  &c.  &c.  Most  of  them  were  tall,  good-looking 
men,  in  very  handsome  and  becoming  dresses.  The  whole  es- 
tablishment of  the  palace  and  gardens  seemed  well  kept  up, 
considerably  better  than  that  of  Lucknow,  and  every  thing 
much  exceeded  my  expectation  except  the  military  show, 
which  was  absolutely  nothing.  There  were  two  or  three  police 
men  in  the  gate  of  the  city,  and  four  or  five,  (I  do  not  think 


PALACE    AT    JYEPOOR.  5 

there  were  more,)  lounging  fellows  with  shields  slung  over 
their  shoulders,  and  lances  Ijing  near  them,  in  difterent  parts 
of  the  out-buildings.  I  was  surprised  at  so  poor  a  muster  among 
the  warlike  and  turbulent  Rajpoots,  but  recollected  that  in  a 
country  where  every  citizen  and  cultivator  is  a  soldier,  on  or- 
dinary occasions  every  soldier  will  be  a  cultivator  or  citizen. 
The  Resident's  suwarrs,  and  my  own  five  men,  together  with 
a  little  guard  of  seven  orderly  sepoys,  who,  as  usual  on  state 
occasions,  followed  me,  and  as  many  of  my  servants  who  chose 
to  see  the  sight,  were  permitted  without  scruple  to  attend  us 
through  all  the  garden,  and  most  of  the  lower  apartments  of 
the  palace,  till,  on  ascending  to  an  upper  story,  those  who 
had  swords,  or  other  arms,  were  requested  either  to  stay  be- 
low or  to  surrender  their  weapons.  The  ascents  throughout 
the  palace  are  not  by  stairs,  but  by  inclined  planes,  of  very 
easy  slope,  and  certainly  less  fatiguing  than  the  European 
style.  The  passages  are  all  narrow  and  mean,  and  the  object 
in  the  whole  building  seems  more  to  surprise  by  the  number, 
the  intricacy,  and  detail  of  the  rooms  and  courts,  than  by  any 
apartments  of  large  size  and  magnificent  proportions.  A  great 
part  of  the  windows  are  glazed  with  small  panes  of  stained  or 
plain  glass,  in  latticed  frames  of  white  marble.  The  stained 
glass  was  said  to  be  from  Venice.  These  upper  rooms,  which 
are  in  fact  a  part  of  the  Zennana,  have  their  floors  chiefly  co- 
vered with  stufted  white  cotton  quilts,  over  which,  in  certain 
places,  sitringees  are  placed,  and,  in  the  more  costly  rooms, 
small  Persian  carpets.  There  are  very  strong  wooden  doors 
in  diff*erent  parts  of  the  building,  whose  hinges  and  locks  are 
as  rude  as  those  of  a  prison,  but  the  suites  of  apartments  them- 
selves are  only  divided  by  large  striped  curtains  hung  over  the 
arched  doorways.  The  ceilings  are  generally  low,  and  the 
rooms  dark  and  closer  both  the  walls  and  ceilings  are,  how- 
ever, splendidly  carved  and  painted,  and  some  of  the  former 
are  entirely  composed  of  small  looking-glasses,  in  fantastic 
frames  of  chunam  mixed  with  talc,  which  have  the  appearance 
of  silver  till  closely  examined.  The  subjects  of  the  paintings 
are  almost  entirely  mythological,  and  their  style  of  colouring, 
their  attitudes,  and  the  general  gloomy  silence  and  intricacy 
of  the  place,  reminded  me  frequently  of  Belzoni's  model  of 
the  Egyptian  tomb. 

After  a  long  suite  of  these  strange  rooms,  we  were  taken 
into  a  very  striking  and  beautiful  apartment,  where  breakfast 
was  prepared  for  us.  It  was  a  small  pavilion  with  arches  on 
either  side,  opening  into  two  small  cloistered  courts,  the  one 
filled  by  a  beautiful  cold  bath  about  thirty  feet  square,  the 
other  by  a  little  flower  garden,  divided,  parterre  wise, 
with  narrow  winding  paths  of  white  marble,  with  a  jet  d'eau 


6  PALACE    AT  JYEPOOR- 

in  every  winding,  to  the  number,  I  should  think,  of  fifteen  or 
twenty,   which  remained  playing  all   the  while   we  were  at 
breakfast.     Nothing  could  be  prettier  or  more  refreshing  than 
the  sight  and  sound  of  these  tiny  fountains,  though  I  did  not 
think  the  effect  improved,  when  all  at  once  several  of  the 
principal  ones  began  to  throw  up  water  tinged  v/ith  some  yel- 
low dye.    It  was  evidently  much  admired  by  the  natives,  and 
reminded  me  of  "  the  golden  water,"   which,  together  with 
''  the  talking  bird"  and  the  "•  singing  tree,"  cost  the  princess 
in  the  Arabian  tale,  so  many  labours  to  obtain.   For  our  break- 
fast. Colonel  Raper  had  sent  the  usual  requisites,  but  the 
''  Maha-Rannee,"  or  "  Majee,"  (lady  mother)  as  she  is  also 
called,  sent  us  some  specimens  of  Hindoo  cookery,  abundant 
in  ghee,  spice,  and  sugar,  but  without  the  garlic  which  forms 
80  essential  a  part  of  Mussulman  luxury.     I  tasted  one  of  the 
messes,  which  was  of  rice,  raisins,  and  some  green  sweet- 
meat, strongly  scented   with  rose-water,  and  seasoned  with 
cinnamon,    and   thought   it   very   good.     The   others  were, 
apparently,  kid  or  mutton,  minced  small  with  rice,  and  covered 
with  a  very  rich  brown  sauce,"  "a  thing  to  dream  of,  not  to 
tell,"  and  which  .if  eaten  at  night  one  should  scarcely  fail  to 
dream  of. 

After  breakfast,  and  till  the  hour  of  durbar  arrived,  we 
visited  more  of  the  buildings.  In  passing  along  the  garden 
wall,  I  ought  to  have  observed  before,  we  were  shown  five  or 
six  elephants  in  training  for  a  fight.  Each  was  separately 
kept  in  a  small  paved  court,  with  a  little  litter,  but  very  dirty. 
They  were  all  what  is  called  "must,"  that  is,  fed  on  stimu- 
lating substances  to  make  them  furious,and  all  showed  in  their 
eyes,  their  gaping  mouths,  and  the  constant  motion  of  their 
trunks,  signs  of  fever  and  restlessness.  Their  mohouts  seemed 
to  approach  them  with  great  caution,  and  on  hearing  a  step 
they  turned  round  as  far  as  their  chains  would  allow,  and 
lashed  fiercely  w^ith  their  trunks.  I  was  moved  and  disgust- 
ed at  the  sight  of  so  noble  creatures  thus  maddened  and  dis- 
eased by  the  absurd  cruelty  of  man,  in  order  that  they  might 
for  his  diversion  inflict  fresh  pain  and  injuries  on  each  other. 
Two  of  them  were  very  large,  and  all  sleek  and  corpulent. 

The  other  apartments  through  which  we  were  conducted 
nearly  resembled  those  we  had  seen  before  breakfast.  We 
had,  however,  a  noble  panoramic  view  of  the  town  from  the 
top  of  the  palace.  Indeed  I  have  seen  few  places  of  which 
a  finer  panorama  might  be  made.  From  thence  we  returned 
to  a  lower  court,  in  the  centre  of  which,  raised  by  a  few 
steps,  is  a  noble  open  pavilion,  with  marble  pillars  richly 
carved,  rather  inferior  in  size,  but  in  other  respects  fully 
equal  to  the  hall  of  audience  in  the  castle  of  Delhi.    The  inte- 


COURT  OF  JYEPOOR.  7 

tior  contains  an  oblong  vaulted  hall,  surrounded  by  a  very 
spacious  verandah,  and  its  pavement  covered  with  sitringees  and 
carpets,  where  we  found  all  the  ministers  whom  I  have  already 
mentioned,  and  some  others,  seated  in  a  semicircle.  They 
rose  to  receive  us,  and  the  "Mouchtar,"  or  prime  minister, 
introduced  to  me  those  whom  I  had  not  yet  met.  Among 
these  were  the  ''Gooroo,"  or  spiritual  adviser  of  the  Rannee, 
a  man  extremely  blamed  for  all  the  outrageous  and  absurd 
conduct  whicli  she  has  pursued,  and  a  very  remarkable  per- 
son, at  whom  Colonel  Raper  looked  with  some  surprise,  and 
whom  he  afterwards  said  he  had  never  seen  or  heard  of  before. 
He  was  apparently  a  Mussulman,  a  very  tall,  hard-featured 
man,  with  a  dark  and  gloomy  expression  of  face,  which  made 
me  think  of  Captain  Rolando  in  Gil  Bias.  His  name  I  did  not 
perfectly  hear,  but  in  conversation  they  called  him  the  Nawab. 
He  was  armed  with  a  sword,  shield,  and  dagger,  all  splendid 
in  their  way;  his  clothes  were  handsome  but  plain,  and  his 
whole  figure  and  equipment  made  me  set  him  down,  I  believe 
correctly,  as  a  Patan  mercenary  leader,  for  whom  these  trou- 
blesome times  had  obtained  employment.  The  Mouchtar  I 
had  now  a  better  opportunity  of  observing  than  before.  He  is 
a  shortish  man,  but  very  stoutly  built,  with  what  I  thought  a 
good  countenance,  and  frank  rough  manners. 

A  very  formal  old  gentleman,  the  marshal  of  the  palace, 
now  got  us  all  to  our  seats.  Colonel  Raper  in  the  middle, 
myself  at  his  right  hand,  and  the  minister  and  the  Nawab  be- 
vond  me;  the  rest  were  arranged  on  the  left  and  behind  us. 
\Ve  sat  cross-legged  on  the  carpet,  there  being  no  chairs,  and 
kept  our  hats  on;  I  was  mortified  to  find  that  the  Rannee 
never  appeared  even  behind  the  Purdah,  though  we  were  told 
she  was  looking  through  a  latticed  window  at  some  distance 
in  front.  The  usual  questions  of  howl  liked  Jyepoor,  whither 
I  was  going,  and.  when  1  left  Calcutta,  followed.  The  Na- 
wab talked  a  good  deal,  and  seemed  to  be  doing  his  best  to 
make  a  favourable  impression  on  the  Resident.  I  doubt 
whether  he  succeeded.  For  my  own  part,  the  idea  of  Cap- 
tain Rolando  faded  away,  and  was  replaced  by  that  of  the 
bold  Alsatian  Captain  Culpepper.  Some  dancing-girls  came 
in,  whose  performances  diftered  in  no  respect  from  those 
which  I  had  seen  at  Bullumghur.  Some  very  common  look- 
ing shawls,  a  turban,  necklace,  &c.  were  now  brought  in  as 
presents  from  the  Rannee  to  me,  which  were  followed  by  two 
horses  and  an  elephant,  of  which  she  also  requested  my  ac- 
ceptance. I  looked  round  on  Colonel  Raper  in  some  embar- 
rassment, which  he  relieved  by  telling  me  that  all  was  done 
according  to  rule,  and  that  I  should  not  be  much  the  richer  nor 
the  Rannee  the  poorer  for  what  passed  that  day.  I,  of  course, 

1* 


S  COURT  OF  JYEPOOR 

however,  expressed  my  thanks  to  the  Mouchtar,  in  as  good 
Hindoostanee  as  I  was  able.  Mutual  wishes  were  expressed 
lor  health,  happiness,  and  a  continuance  of  friendship  between 
the  Company  and  the  Court  of  Jyepoor,  and  after  embracing 
ail  the  ministers  a  second  time,  we  took  our  leave,  mounted 
our  elephants,  and  returned  to  the  Residency,  the  Rannee's 
presents  going  in  procession  before  us.  Of  these  presents,  it 
appeai'ed  that  the  elephant  was  lame,  and  so  vicious  that  few 
people  ventured  to  go  near  him.  One  of  the  horses  was  a 
very  pretty  black,  but  he  also  turned  out  as  lame  as  a  cat, 
while  the  other  horse  was  in  poor  condition,  and  at  least,  as 
my  people  declared,  thirty  years  old.  Colonel  Raper  said, 
however,  that  these  animals  would  do  more  than  cover  the 
fees  which  it  would  be  proper  to  pay  the  Rannee's  servants, 
and  which  the  Company,  according  to  the  usual  practice,  would 
discharge  for  me.  In  fact,  the  native  powers  understand 
perfectly  well  that  presents  of  any  great  value  are,  on  these 
occasions,  thrown  away.  They  have  it  published  in  the 
"Acbars,"  or  native  newspapers,  that  such  or  such  a  distin- 
guished personage  came  to  pay  his  respects  at  the  Court  of 
Jyepoor,  and  that  the  Rannee  testified  her  pleasure  at  his  ar- 
rival, by  the  gift  of  an  elephant,  tv/o  beautiful  horses,  and  two 
trays  of  ornaments  and  shawls,  and  thus  the  ends  are  answer- 
ed of  making  known  the  rank  of  the  visitant,  of  setting  forth 
the  Rannee's  liberality,  and  above  all,  of  hinting  to  her  sub- 
jects and  neighbours  the  good  terms  she  is  on  with  the  British 
Government.  But  all  these  objects  they  are,  of  course,  glad 
to  obtain  at  as  slight  an  expense  as  possible. 

In  the  course  of  tjiis  day,  I  had  a  good  deal  of  conversation 
with  Colonel  Raper  on  the  history  and  intrigues  of  this  little 
court,  the  splendour  of  which  has  surprised  me;  but  which,  in 
its  morals  and  political  vvisdom,  appears  to  be  on  a  level  not 
much  higher  than  that  of  Abyssinia. 

The  Rajas  of  Jyepoor  were  for  a  long  time  the  most  wealthy 
and  powerful  of  all  the  Rajpoot  states.  Their  territory  is  still 
the  largest,  and  their  revenue  used  to  be  reckoned  at  a  crore  of 
rupees,  (at  the  present  rate  of  exchange,  less  than  a  million 
pounds  sterling,)  annually.  They  were  generally  on  pretty 
good  terms  with  the  Emperors  of  Delhi,  and  though  nominally 
vassals,  they  always  preserved  a  state  of  real  independence 
of  their  authority.  The  Maharatta  conquests  blighted  all  their 
prosperity;  the  Raja  was  so  much  weakened  as  to  lose  all  au- 
thority over  his  own  Thakoors,  twenty  or  thirty  lacks  was  the 
whole  amount  of  his  revenue,  and  this  was  growing  less  under 
the  almost  annual  scourge  of  the  Pindarries,  of  Jeswunt  Row 
Holcar,  and,  above  all,  of  his  General  Ameer  Khan.  Even 
before  the  conquest  of  Lord  Hastings,  the  late  Raja  of  Jye- 


COURT  OF  JYEPOOR.  9 

poor  had,  as  it  is  said,  shown  great  anxiety  to  obtain  the 
protection  of  Britain,  but  from  the  jarring  members  of  which 
his  state  is  composed,  it  was  one  of  the  last  which  in  any  regu- 
lar way  acceded  to  the  confederacy,  the  Thakoors  keeping 
close  in  their  castles  like  feudal  chiefs,  alike  averse  to  any  in- 
terference either  of  our  government  or  their  own,  and  chiefly 
occupied  in  making  war  on  each  other,  leading  plundering 
parties  into  the  neighbouring  states,  and  picking  the  bones 
which  more  potent  devourers  left  behind.  The  principality 
was,  in  fact,  in  a  state  of  anarchy  as  wretched  and  as  bloody 
as  Circassia  at  the  present  day,  or  England  in  the  time  of 
Ivanhoe,  with  the  additional  misery  that  foreign  invaders  were 
added  to  domestic  feudal  tyrants.  This  anarchy  has  never  yet 
been  completely  put  a  stop  to  in  the  remoter  provinces,  but 
it  had  in  the  greater  part  of  the  kingdom  been  materially 
abated  by  British  arms  and  influence.  The  country  had  be- 
come safe  to  travel  through,  the  peasants  slept  in  their  beds  in 
peace,  the  Thakoors  began  to  come  to  court  again  and  pay 
their  tribute,  and  the  revenue  had  greatly  improved,  when  the 
Raja  died,  five  or  six  years  ago,  leaving  no  son,  but  one  of  his 
wives  pregnant  and  near  the  time  of  her  delivery.  This  at 
least  was  said.,  though  many  of  the  Thakoors  declared  it  was 
an  impositioa.  A  child,  however,  was  produced,  and  its  re- 
puted mother  became  regent,  chiefly  by  the  influence  of  a  man 
of  high  rank  and  respectable  character,  who  is  generally  known 
by  his  he"editary  title  of  ''  Rawul,"  and  who  possessed  in  a 
great  degree  the  confidence  of  the  English  government.  He 
became  Minister  under  the  Regent,  and  the  improvement  of 
the  country  continued  progressive.  He,  however,  paid  his 
nominal  mistress  but  little  deference,  and  she  soon  forgot  the 
protection  which  he  had  afforded  to  herself  and  her  son.  Nor 
v/as  this  all.  The  Rawul  had  the  misfortune  to  find  out  an 
intrigue  between  one  of  the  Rannees  and  an  adventurer  from 
Rohilcund  who  filled  some  post  about  the  palace.  He  banish- 
ed the  paramour,  and  the  lady  never  forgave  him,  but  has  ever 
since  been  urging  the  Ma-jee  to  the  most  violent  measures 
against  him,  in  which  she  has  been  backed^by  the  Gooroo,  a 
very  profligate  Brahmin,  who  has  always  used  his  influence 
with  the  Ma-jee  to  bad  purposes.  Two  years  ago  an  attempt 
w  as  made  to  get  rid  of  the  Rawul  and  bring  in  the  present 
minister,  a  Thakoor  of  extremely  bad  character,  who  had  been 
very  recently  in  open  rebellion,  and  had  stood  a  siege  against 
a  British  force.  Against  his  appointment,  however,  the  British 
government  strongly  remonstrated.  The  Rawul  was  main- 
tained in  his  place,  and  his  opponent  banished,  till  the  evil 
reports  which  prevailed  last  year  in  all  these  provinces  respect- 
ing the  situation  of  our  empire,  encouraged  the  Rannee  to  ven- 


10  JYEPOOft. 

ture  on  the  object  which  she  had  at  heart.  Her  first  step  was  to 
attack,  with  an  armed  force,  the  house  of  the  Rawul  in  Jjepoor, 
and  he  verjnarrowly  escaped  with  his  life  to  the  Residency.  She 
then  got  together  a  considerable  number  of  troops,  put  the  city 
in  a  state  of  defence,  and  assumed  so  martial  an  air,  that  Colo- 
nel Raper,  with  his  small  force  of  sepoys,  his  wife  and  childen, 
and  his  friend  the  Rawul,  found  it  necessary  to  retreat  from 
the  Residency  to  a  position  near  Bancrote,  about  nine  miles 
from  Jyepoor.  The  Ma-jee  seemed  fully  bent  on  carrying 
matters  to  the  utmost  length;  she  invited  over  her  favourite, 
then  living  at  Agra,  and  treated  with  much  contempt  the  pro- 
posal made  her  by  the  Resident,  that  she  should  be  at  liberty 
to  name  any  minister  but  that  one  who  was  so  personally  ob- 
noxious. She  found,  however,  that  her  force  was  less  than 
she  probably  expected.  The  majority  of  the  Thakoors  were 
not  so  fond  either  of  her  or  the  new  minister  as  to  run  any 
risk  for  either:  many  were  personally  attached  to  the  Rawul, 
and  had  they  been  encouraged,  would  have  joined  Colonel 
Raper's  camp.  The  ill  reports  from  Calcutta  died  away,  and 
none  of  the  neighbouring  Rajpoot  principalities  appeared  in- 
clined to  side  with  her,  while  the  occupation  of  Mhow  by  the 
Bombay  troops,  placed  a  considerable  addition  of  force  at  Sir 
David  Ochterlony's  disposal,  and  old  Ameer  Khan,  who, 
though  shorn  of  his  ancient  power,  still  occupies  a  considera- 
ble jaghire  south  of  Neemuch,  made  an  eager  offer  of  his  ser- 
vices to  the  British  government  to  invade  a  country  with  which, 
as  the  hoary  ruffian  truly  said,  "  he  was  v/ell  acquainted!*' 
Colonel  Raper  accordingly  ditl  not  think  that  she  either  could 
or  would  have  continued  to  hold  out;  but  Sir  David  Ochter- 
lony,  probably  in  consequence  of  directions  from  Calcutta, 
thought  it  best  to  give  up  all  the  points  in  dispute,  rather  than 
run  the  risk  of  a  new  war  in  Western  and  Central  India.  The 
Rawul  retired  to  his  estates  and  castles,  and  the  Rannee,  with 
her  new  minister,  is  permitted  to  try  and  govern  the  country, 
a  task  which  she  will  probably  soon  be  found  unequal  to,  the  ia- 
vourite  being,  though  a  man  of  cou  rage,  of  no  character  or  talent, 
and  the  Rannee  as  ignorant  and  passionate  as  a  child.  She  is  now 
about  thirty  years  old,  of  humble  extraction,  was  not  the  prin- 
cipal wife  of  the  late  Raja,  and  had  no  children  in  the  former 
years  of  her  marriage.  Under  such  circumstances  it  is  pro- 
bable, that  a  short  time  ago  a  civil  war  would  have  arisen  in 
Jyepoor,  and  it  is  certain  that  in  such  an  event  the  Maharattas 
would  not  have  been  slow  to  take  further  advantage  of  their 
troubles.  The  chance  now  is,  that  the  British  will  be  called 
on  to  mediate  between  the  parties;  but  before  this  takes  place, 
some  further  mischief  may  be  looked  for.  During  the  late 
scenes  of  intrigue  and  confusion,  the  Rannee's  confidential 


JYErOOR.  11 

Gooroo  made  a  journey  to  Agra  and  Delhi,  and  Colonel  Raper 
has  ascertained  that  he  drew  large  sums  from  his  mistress, 
with  the  avowed  object  of  bribing  the  principal  servants  of  the 
Company  to  favour  her  wishes.  It  is  most  probable.  Colonel 
Raper  thinks,  that  this  crafty  Brahmin  put  all  the  money  into 
Tiis  own  pocket j  but  from  what  I  have  heard  of  the  practices 
of  the  moonshees  of  public  men,  I  cannot  help  suspecting  that 
some  of  it,  at  least,  has  redounded  to  their  advantage.  At  all 
events,  it  is  painful  to  find  that  the  natives  of  this  country 
continue  to  think  us  venal. 

January  30. — I  read   prayers  and  preached  at  the  Resi- 
dency, and  christened  Colonel Raper's  little  girl. 

January  31. — I  went  this  morning  with  Colonel  Raper  and 
Dr.  Simpson,  the  Residency  Surgeon,  who,  with  Mrs.  Raper, 
are  the  only  European  residents  in  Jyepoor,  to  Umeer,  the  an- 
cient capital  of  this  principality,  till  Jye  Singh  built  the  pre- 
sent city  in  the  plain.  We  passed  through  the  principal  streets 
of  Jyepoor,  being  joined  at  the  palace  gate  by  two  of  the  min- 
isters whom  I  had  met  there  the  Saturday  before,  and  one  of 
whom  was  Killedar  of  the  place  which  we  were  going  to  visit. 
The  Rajpoots  are  not  such  showy  figures  on  horseback  as  the 
Mussulmans,  or  even  the  Jats ;  these  men  rode  well,  however, 
and  had  fine  horses,  which,  with  their  long  red  shawls,  sabres, 
and  flowing  robes,  as  well  as  their  numerous  attandants,  made 
up  a  striking  picture. 

We  passed  together  through  the  opposite  gate  of  the  city, 
the  uniformity  of  which  throughout  is  very  striking.  My  com- 
panions told  me  that  it  was  laid  out  in  quarters,  or  wards,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  of  the  Sbaster ;  one  being  for  the  Tha- 
koors,  another  for  tlie  Brahmins,  a  third  for  the  ordinary  Raj- 
poots, a  fourth  for  the  caste  of  Kayts,  or  writers,  a  fitth  for 
the  Bunyans,  or  traders,  and  a  sixth  for  the  Gaowalas,  or  cow- 
keepers,  while  the  seventh  is  occupied  by  the  palace.  After 
leaving  the  city  we  proceeded  by  a  wide  sandy  road,  through 
a  succession  of  gardens  and  garden-houses,  some  of  the  latter 
of  which  are  very  handsome,  to  the  banks  of  a  large  lake, 
covered  with  water-fowl,  and  with  a  small  island  in  the  midst, 
on  which  were  the  ruins  of  a  palace.  The  mere  supplies  the 
stream  which  we  had  passed  in  our  way  up  the  ghat ;  it  has  on 
this  side  every  appearance  of  being  a  natural  sheet  of  water ; 
its  banks  are  more  woody  and  wild  than  any  thing  which  I  had 
seen  since  I  left  Kemaoon,  and  the  steep  and  rugged  road  by 
which  we  ascended  the  hill  beyond  it,  contributed  to  raise  my 
expectation  of  a  beautiful  view  from  the  top. 

This  road  led  us  through  an  ancient  gateway  in  an  embat- 
tled and  turretted  wall,  which  connected  the  two  hills,  like 
that  which  I  described  on  the  other  side  of  Jyepoor,  and  within 


12  UMEER. 

we  found  a  street  like  that  also,  of  temples  and  old  buildings 
of  the  same  character,  one  of  which  was  pointed  out  to  me  as 
a  shrine,  whither  the  young  Raja  is  carried  weekly,  to  pay  his 
devotions,  and  another  as  the  house  where  he  puts  up  his 
horses,  and  reposes  on  such  occasions.  Beyond  was  a  still 
steeper  ascent  to  a  second  gate,  which  introduced  us  to  a  very 
wild  and  romantic  valley,  with  a  small  lake  at  the  bottom, — 
the  crests  of  the  hills  on  either  side  crowned  with  walls  and 
towers,  their  lower  parts  all  rock  and  wood  interspered  with 
ruined  buildings,  in  front,  and  on  the  margin  of  the  lake,  & 
small  ruinous  town,  overgrown  with  trees,  and  intermingled 
with  towers  and  temples,  and  over  it,  but  a  little  to  the  left 
hand,  a  noble  old  fortified  palace,  connected  by  a  long  line  of 
wall  and  tower,  with  a  very  large  castle  on  the  highest  part  of 
the  hill.  We  now  descended  the  ghat  by  a  similar  road  to  that 
which  had  conducted  us  thither,  among  some  fine  old  trees, 
fragments  of  rock,  and  thickets  of  thorny  underwood,  till  we 
reached  the  town,  which  almost  entirely  consisted  of  temples, 
and  had  few  inhabitants  but  grim  and  ghastly  Yogis,  with  their 
hair  in  elf-knots,  and  their  faces  covered  with  chalk,  sitting 
naked,  and  hideous,  like  so  many  ghoules,  amid  the  tombs  and 
ruined  houses.  A  narrow,  winding  street,  led  us  through  these 
abodes  of  superstition,  under  a  dark  shade  of  peepul-trees,  till 
we  found  ourselves  on  another  steep  ascent,  paved  with  gra- 
nite, and  leading  to  the  palace.  We  wound  along  the  face  of 
the  hill,  through,  I  think,  three  gothic  gateways,  alighted  in  a 
large  moss-grown  quadrangle,  surrounded  by  what  seemed  to 
be  barracks  and  stables,  and  followed  our  guides  up  a  broad  and 
long  flight  of  steps,  through  another  richly  ornamented  gate- 
way, into  the  interior  courts  of  the  building,  which  contain  one 
very  noble  hall  of  audience,  a  pretty  little  garden  with  foun- 
tains, and  a  long  succession  of  passages,  cloisters,  alcoves,  and 
small  and  intricate  apartments,  many  of  them  extremely  beau- 
tiful, and  enjoyingfrom  theirwindows,  balconies  and  terraces, 
one  of  the  most  striking  prospects  which  can  be  conceived. 
The  carving  in  stone  and  marble,  and  the  inlaid  flowers  and 
ornaments  in  some  of  these  apartments,  are  equal  to  those  of 
Delhi  and  Agra,  and  only  surpassed  by  the  beauties  of  the 
Tage-mahal.  My  companions,  none  ofwhom  had  visited  Umeer 
before,  all  declared  that,  as  a  whole,  it  was  superior  to  the  castle 
of  Delhi.  For  myself,  I  have  seen  many  royal  palaces,  con- 
taining larger  and  more  stately  rooms, — many,  the  architecture 
of  which  was  in  a  purer  taste,  and  some  which  have  covered  a 

greater  extent  of  ground,  (though  in  this  if  the  fortress  on  the 
ill  be  included,  Umeer  will  rank,  I  think,  above  Windsor,) — 
but  for  varied  and  picturesque  effect,  for  richness  of  carving, 
for  wild  beauty  of  situation,  for  the  number  and  romantic  sin- 


PALACE,  CASTLE  AND  TEMPLE.  13 

gularitj  of  the  apartments,  and  the  strangeness  of  finding  such 
a  building,  in  such  a  place  and  country,  1  am  able  to  compare 
nothing  with  Umeer ;  and  this,  too,  was  the  work  of  Jye  Singh! 
The  ornaments  are  in  the  same  style,  though  in  a  better  taste, 
than  those  of  his  palace  at  Jyepoor,  and  the  size  and  number 
of  the  apartments  are  also  similar.  A  greater  use  has  been 
made  of  stained  glass  here,  or  else,  from  the  inaccessible  height 
of  the  window,  the  glass  has  remained  in  better  preservation. 
The  building  is  in  good  repair,  but  has  a  solitary  and  deserted 
aspect ;  and  as  our  guide,  with  his  bunch  of  keys,  unlocked  one 
iron-clenched  door  after  another,  and  led  us  over  terraces,  and 
up  towers,  down  steep,  dark,  sloping  passages,  and  through  a 
long  succession  of  little  silent  courts,  and  dim  vaulted  cham- 
bers, seen  only  through  coloured  glass  and  made  more  gorgeous- 
ly gloomy  by  their  carving,  gilding,  and  mirrors,  the  idea  of 
an  enchanted  castle  occurred,  I  believe,  to  us  all ;  and  I  could 
not  help  thinking  what  magnificent  use  Ariosto  or  Sir  Walter 
Scott  would  have  made  of  such  a  building.  After  all  we  saw 
only  part  of  it.  Higher  up  the  hill  was  another  grim-looking 
ward,  with  few  external  windows,  but  three  or  four  elegantly 
carved  kiosks  projecting  from  its  roof,  and  a  few  cypresses 
peeping  over  its  walls,  which  they  said  was  the  Zennana,  and 
not  allowed  to  be  seen ;  and  above  this  again,  but  communica- 
ting by  a  succession  of  gates  and  turrets,  was  the  castle  which 
I  have  mentioned,  grimmer  and  darker  still,  with  high  towers 
and  machicollated  battlements,  with  a  very  few  ornamented 
windows,  many  narrow  loop-holes,  and  one  tall  minaret  rising 
above  the  whole  cluster.  The  interior  of  this,  of  course  was 
not  shown  :  indeed,  it  is  what  the  government  of  Jyepoor  con- 
siders as  their  last  resource.  The  public  treasure  used  to  be 
laid  up  here;  and  here,  it  is  said,  are  many  state  prisoners, 
whose  number  is  likely  to  be  increased  if  the  present  rule  con- 
tinues. 

On  returning  to  the  stable-yard,  our  conductor  asked  us  if 
we  wished  to  see  the  temple?  I  answered,  of  course,  "any 
thing  more  that  was  to  be  seen;"  and  he  turned  short  and  led 
us  some  little  distance  up  the  citadel,  then  through  a  dark  low 
arch  into  a  small  court,  where,  to  my  surprise,  the  first  object 
which  met  my  eyes  was  a  pool  of  blood  on  the  pavement,  by 
which  a  naked  man  stood  with  a  bloody  sword  in  his  hand. 
The  scenes  through  which  we  had  passed  were  so  romantic, 
that  my  fancy  had  almost  been  wound  up  to  expect  an  adven- 
ture, and  I  felt,  I  confess,  for  an  instant  my  hand  instinctively 
clench  more  firmly  a  heavy  liindoostanee  whip  I  had  with  me, 
the  butt  end  of  which  would,  as  a  last  resource,  have  been  no 
despicable  weapon.     The  guide,  however,  at  the  same  instant. 


14  PRIVATE  EXECUTIGiV. 

cautioned  me  against  treading  in  the  blood,  and  told  me  that 
a  goat  was  sacrificed  here  every  morning.  In  fact,  a  second 
glance  showed  me  the  headless  body  of  the  poor  animal  lying 
before  the  steps  of  a  small  shrine,  apparently  of  Kali.  The 
Brahmin  was  officiating  and  tinkling  his  bell,  but  it  was  plain 
to  see,  from  the  embarrassment  of  our  guide,  that  we  had  in- 
truded at  an  unlucky  moment,  and  we  therefore  merely  cast 
our  eyes  round  the  court,  without  going  nearer  to  the  altar  and 
its  mysteries.  The  guide  told  us  in  our  way  back,  that  the 
tradition  was  that,  in  ancient  times,  a  man  was  sacrificed  here 
every  day:  that  the  custom  had  been  laid  aside  till  Jye  Singh 
had  a  frightful  dream,  in  which  the  destroying  power  appeared 
to  him,  and  asked  him  why  her  image  was  suffered  to  be  dry? 
The  Raja,  afraid  to  disobey,  and  reluctant  to  fulfil  the  requi- 
sition to  its  ancient  extent  of  horror,  took  counsel  and  substi- 
tuted a  goat  for  the  human  victim,  with  which  the 

Dark  goddess  of  the  azure  flood. 

Whose  robes  are  wet  with  infant  tears, 
Scull-chaplet  wearer,  whom  the  blood 

Of  man  delights  three  thousand  years, 

was  graciously  pleased  to  be  contented. 

We  were  now  taken  down  the  hill,  outside  the  fortifica- 
tions, to  some  baths  and  summer-houses  on  the  banks  of  the 
lake,  which  I  should  have  thought  pretty  if  they  had  not  been 
much  inferior  to  what  I  had  already  seen,  and  we  crossed  the 
lake  by  a  narrow  bridge,  from  the  further  end  of  which  I  made 
an  attempt  to  sketch  the  view.  Here  our  horses  met  us,  and 
we  returned  home  all  highly  gratified,  and  myself  not  a  little 
surprised  that  a  place  so  curious  and  interesting  should  be  so 
little  known,  not  merely  in  Europe  but  in  India. 

In  the  course  of  our  homeward  ride.  Colonel  Raper  told  me 
that  he  had  had  unpleasant  news  from  the  palace.  The  Rannee, 
the  night  before,  without  trial,  or  without  so  much  as  assign- 
ing a  reason,  murdered  one  of  her  female  attendants, — a  wo- 
man who  bore  a  fair  character,  was  possessed  of  considerable 
wealth,  and  believed,  till  lately,  to  stand  high  in  her  mis- 
tress's confidence  and  good  graces.  Her  wealth  was  supposed 
to  be  her  only  crime.  A  great  alarm  had  in  consequence  been 
excited  in  the  zennana  and  in  the  city,  and  eight  other  wo- 
men, chiefly  wives  and  concubines  of  the  late  Raja,  believed 
themselves  also  marked  out  for  destruction.  This  atrocity 
had  been  perpetrated  by  the  Rannee's  own  order,  and  in  her 
presence,  but  Colonel  Raper  said  if  the  Mouchtar  had  been  him- 
self any  thing  but  a  mere  ruffian,  he  would  never  allow  such 


DEATH  OF  THE  SOUBAHDAR.  15 

practices  to  go  on,  nor  would  such  an  order  have  been  exe- 
cuted had  he  been  a  likely  person  to  resent  it. 

With  this  story  on  my  mind,  it  was  with  any  thing  rather 
than  a  pleasurable  sensation,  that  I  received  in  the  course  of 
the  morning  a  present  of  fruit,  sweetmeats,  and  flowers,  with 
the  Ma-jee's  best  wishes  for  my  safe  journey,  her  assurance 
that  her  people  had  arranged  every  thing  for  my  comfort  on 
the  road,  and  her  hope  that  our  friendship  might  long  con- 
tinue! I  sent  back  my  grateful  acknowledgments,  which 
was  no  more  than  her  due,  for  the  kindness  and  hospitality 
she  had  shown  me,  and  an  assurance  of  my  prayers,  though  1 
did  not  add,  for  her  amendment.  I  found  to-day  that  her  at- 
tentions had  not  been  confined  to  me  personally,  but  that  she 
had  sent  an  excellent  dinner  of  sweetmeats,  ghee,  rice,  kid, 
flour,  and  other  Hindoostanee  dainties,  sufficient,  as  they 
told  me,  for  100  men,  to  be  divided  amongst  my  servants  and 
escort. 

I  had  intended  to  proceed  the  first  stage,  which  is  only 
eight  miles  this  afternoon,  but  was  prevented  by  seven  of  my 
bearers  taking  fright  at  the  reports  they  heard  of  the  country 
to  the  south-west,  and  running  off  this  morning.  Seven  more 
were  pressed  by  government  order,  to  go  with  me  as  far  as 
Nusseerabad,  and  I  told  them  that,  notwithstanding  the 
manner  in  which  their  services  were  compelled,  I  should  give 
them  the  usual  pay  for  the  journey.  I  now  hoped  at  all 
events  to  get  away  on  Tuesday  the  1st  of  February,  but  was 
again  prevented  by  a  very  dismal  and  unexpected  accident. 
A  little  before  five  in  the  morning,  the  servants  came  to  me 
for  directions  and  to  say  that  the  good  careful  old  soubahdar 
was  very  ill  and  unable  to  leave  his  tent.  I  immediately  put 
on  my  clothes  and  went  down  to  the  camp,  in  my  way  to 
which  they  told  me  that  he  had  been  taken  unwell  at  night, 
and  that  Dr.  Smith  had  given  him  medicine.  They  had  none 
of  them,  however,  seen  him  since.  I  therefore  wakened  Dr. 
Smith  to  ask  him  what  was  the  matter,  and  was  informed  that 
his  illness  was  slight,  and  that  he  would  be  able  to  set  olf 
at  his  usual  time.  I  thought  it  best  to  go  to  his  tent,  and  ask 
him  how  he  was,  to  which  he  answered  that  he  felt  well,  I 
told  him,  however,  that  he  had  better  remain  quiet,  and  that 
his  tent  and  bed  might  perfectly  well  go  on  in  the  course 
of  the  day.  He  answered  in  his  usual  manner,  "  Ucha, 
ghureeb-purwar,"  and  I  left  him  to  see  the  camels  loaded, 
and  to  give  directions  about  the  manner  in  which  I  wished 
the  tents  to  be  pitched  at  our  next  stage.  Shortly  after 
seeing  that  there  was  some  bustle  in  packing  near  his  tent, 
I  went  up  to  bid  the  people  make  less  noise,  on  which  they 
told  me  they  were  acting  by  his  orders,  and  that  he  had  got 

Vol.  II.— 2 


16  DEATH  OP  THE  SOFBAHDAH. 

up  and  gone  to  the  other  side  of  the  camp,  leaving  direction!? 
to  have  his  poney  saddled.  I  was  vt^alking  away  to  finish 
my  own  dressing  when  a  man  came  running  to  say  that  the 
soubahdar  was  dying.  As  he  was  returning  to  his  tent  he 
had  fallen  down,  and  I  found  him  in  the  arms  of  two  of  his 
men,  apparently  in  a  swoon,  but  making  a  faint  moaning 
noise.  I  made  them  loosen  the  cloth  which  Mas  wrapped 
round  his  head  and  throat,  and  bid  them  sprinkle  his  face 
with  water,  while  I  ran  for  Dr.  Smith,  who  had  been  already 
alarmed  and  came  immediately.  He  opened  a  vein,  and,  with 
much  humane  patience,  continued  to  try  different  remedies 
while  any  chance  remained 5  but  no  blood  flowed,  and  no  sign 
of  life  could  be  detected  from  the  time  of  his  coming  up,  ex- 
cept a  feeble  flutter  at  the  heart  which  soon  ceased.  He  was 
at  an  advanced  age,  at  least  for  an  Indian,  though  apparently 
hale  and  robust.  I  felt  it  a  comfort  that  I  had  not  urged  him 
to  any  exertion,  and  that  in  fact  I  had  endeavoured  to  per- 
suade him  to  lie  still  till  he  was  quite  well.  But  I  was  ne- 
cessarily much  shocked  by  the  sudden  end  of  one  who  had 
travelled  with  me  so  far,  and  whose  conduct  had,  in  every 
instance  given  me  satisfaction.  I  really  felt  a  kindness  for 
him,  founded  not  only  on  his  quiet  pleasing  manners,  but  his 
attention  to  his  duty  and  the  confidence  which  I  could  always 
place  on  his  word.  And  it  was  my  intention  to  recommend 
him  for  promotion  as  earnestly  as  I  could  to  his  Colonel. 
Nor,  while  writing  this,  can  I  recollect  without  a  real  pang 
his  calm  countenance  and  grey  hairs,  as  he  sate  in  his  tent 
door  telling  his  beads  in  an  afternoon,  or  walked  with  me,  as 
he  seldom  failed  to  do,  through  the  villages  on  an  evening, 
with  his  own  silver-hilted  sabre  under  his  arm,  his  loose  cotton 
mantle  folded  round  him,  and  his  golden  necklace  and  Raj- 
poot string  just  visible  above  it.  Nobody  knew  him  to  be  ill 
during  the  preceding  day  till  just  before  bed-time.  He  had 
been  with  Abdullah  and  Cashiram  to  the  city,  to  see  a  pair  of 
shawls  of  which  I  meant  to  make  him  a  present  on  our  arrival 
atNusseerabad,  that  being  the  usual  or,  at  least,  the  most  grati- 
fying return  which  a  sepoy  oflicer  can  receive,  and  had  been  ex- 
tremely delighted  with  the  knowledge  of  my  intention.  He 
was  of  Rajpoot  caste,  and  his  name  was  Jye  Singh,  two  cir- 
cumstances which  made  a  strong  impression  on  the  minds  of 
his  comrades,  who  said  *'  it  was  a  strange  thing  that  he  had  just 
happened  to  die  in  Jye  Singh's  city,  and  on  his  return  after  so 
many  years  absence  toRajpootana."  He  left  two  sons,  and 
a  woman  who  was  really  his  wife  and  universally  so  considered, 
but  who  being  of  an  inferior  caste  could  not  be  regularly  joined 
to  him  by  the  Brahminical  rites, — a  circumstance  which  I  re- 
joiced to  hear,  as  it  put  the  burning  herself  out  of  the  ques- 


BUGGEROO.  17 

tion.  He  had  left  her  and  his  boys  at  Seetapoor,  but  expect- 
ed to  meet  them  atNusseerabad.  Alas!  how  nearly  had  he  ar- 
rived at  the  place  where  he  looked  forwards  to  a  reunion  with 
those  whom  he  loved !  His  body  was  burnt  in  the  course  of 
the  day,  and  I  had  an  inventory  made  of  his  goods.  This  is  the 
second  death,  and  the  fourth  separation  from  illness  which  I 
have  had  to  regret  since  the  commencement  of  my  journey. 

The  death  of  the  poor  soubahdar  led  to  the  question  whether 
there  would  be  still  time  to  send  on  the  baggage.  All  the 
Mussulmans  pressed  our  immediate  departure,  while  the  Hin- 
doos begged  that  they  might  be  allowed  to  stay,  at  least,  till 
sunset.  The  reasons  urged  on  both  sides  were  very  charac- 
teristic. The  former  pleading  that  the j^lace  \va.s  ''unlucky," 
and  that  it  was  best  to  get  out  of  it  as  soon  as  possible^  the 
other  that  the  day  was  unlucky,  not  only  from  the  melancholy 
omen  which  had  already  occurred,  but  from  its  being  Tuesday, 
which  the  votaries  of  Brama  regard  as  unpropitious  for  the 
commencement  of  any  enterprise.  I  determined  on  remaining, 
not  only  as,  in  my  opinion,  more  decent  and  respectful  to  the 
memory  of  a  good  and  aged  officer,  but  because  the  things  being 
already  packed  up  and  ready  to  put  on  the  camels,  it  would  be 
easy  to  send  them  off  at  midnight,  and  run  the  two  first  stages 
towards  Nusseerabad  into  one.  I  ordered  therefore  the  men 
to  unload  their  camels,  many  of  whom  had  received  their  bur- 
thensj  and  my  determination  to  remain  was  welcomed  with  the 
kindest  hospitality  by  Colonel  liaper,  and  with  much  joy  by  the 
Hindoo  part  of  the  establishment.  During  my  stay  at  Jyepoor, 
Dr.  Smith  amputated  the  hand  of  the  poor  Brahmin,  who  had 
followed  us  from  Mowah,  and  he  was  left  in  the  care  of  the 
residency  surgeon. 

February  2. — We  set  off  at  half-past  five  this  morning;  Co- 
lonel Raper  went  with  me  on  his  elephant  as  far  as  Ban- 
croty,  and  I  thence  rode  the  remaining  ten  miles  to  Buggeroo, 
which  I  found  rather  a  pretty  place,  surrounded  with  groves 
of  the  tara-palm,  a  rare  sight  in  these  inhospitable  plains.  Yet 
a  great  part  of  the  soil  whicli  I  went  over  m  the  course  of  the 
day,  is  not  bad,  and  the  water  is  every  where  near  the  surface. 
1  asked  one  of  my  attendants  why  there  was  no  cultivation.^ 
and  he  ascribed  it  first,  to  theeftects  of  the  former  troubles, 
during  which  no  man  dared  plough;  secondly,  to  the  late 
drought,  which  had  put  a  stop  to  all  improvements  which  had 
since  been  commenced.  I  got  this  information  through  an  in- 
terpeter,  for  I  had  discovered  before  that  the  language  of  the 
Rajpoots  is  extremely  different  from  the  Hindoostanee.  It  is, 
I  apprehend,  much  nearer  the  Sanscrit,  but  even  in  the  words 
which  are  common  to  them  and  their  neighbours,  their  thick 
pronunciation,  making  the  "  s"  into  i^  sh,"  or  "  dj,"  makes 


IS  RAJPOOT    CAVALRY— ROBBERS. 

it  very  difficult  for  one  who  is  not  a  proficient  to  catch  their 
meaning. 

The  events  of  the  morning  proved  that  Colonel  Raper's  re- 
monstrance on  the  previous  misconduct  of  the  vakeel  and  su- 
warrs  had  produced  its  proper  effect.  The  escort  now  sent  with 
me  were  very  attentive  to  their  duty,  and  evidently  picked 
men;  indeed  I  have  seldom  seen  finer  or  taller  young  fellows 
than  the  most  of  them  were.     Their  horses  and  arms  likewise 
were  good,  and  in  good  order,  but  their  clothes  extremely 
ragged  and  dirty,  and  their  wild  riding,  their  noisy  whooping 
and  hallooing,  and  the  air  of  perfect  equality  with  which  they 
were  disposed  to  treat  us,  were  remarkably  contrasted  with 
the  profound  respect,  the  soldierly  calmness,  and  handsome 
equipments  of  Skinner's  cavaliers.     I  was  indeed  prepared  to 
expect  a  much  greater  simplicity  and  homeliness  of  manner  in 
the  Rajpoots  and  tribes  of  Central  India,  than  in  those  who 
had  been  subjects  of  the  Mogul  empire,  and  even  at  the  court 
of  Jyepoor,  I  was  struck  with  the  absence  of  that  sort  of  polish 
which  had  been  apparent  at  Lucknow  and  Delhi.  The  Hindoos 
seem  every  where,  when  left  to  themselves,  and  under  their 
own  sovereigns,  a  people  of  simple  tastes  and  tempers,  inclin- 
ed to  frugality,  and  indiiferent  to  show  and  form.     The  sub- 
jects of  even  the  greatest  Maharatta  prince,  sit  down  without 
scruple  in  his  presence,  and  no  trace  is  to  be  found  in  their 
conversation  of  those  adulatory  terms  which  the  Mussulmans 
introduced  into  the  northern  and  eastern  provinces.  Europeans 
too  are  very  little  known  here,  and  I  heard  the  children  continu- 
ally calling  out  to  us  as  we  passed  through  the  villages, ''  Ferin- 
gee,  ue  Feringeel"  It  was  whimsical,  however,  and  in  appa- 
rent contrast  with  this  plainness  of  speech,  that  the  term 
"  Maharaja,"  or  Sovereign,  is  applied  by  them  to  almost  every 
superior.      "  Salam  Maharaja  1"  was  addressed  to  me  ten  or 
twelve  times  in  the  day  by  passengers  whom  I  met  on  the  road, 
and  my  escort,  though  riding  side  by  side  with  us,  and  laugh- 
ing heartily  at  our  inefficient  attempts  to  make  them  under- 
stand us,  never  spoke  to  me  without  this  title. 

During  the  afternoon  an  alarm  reached  us  of  robbers  in  our 
morrow's  march.  Some  tradesmen  coming  to  Jyepoor  the  day 
before  had  been  plundered,  and,  as  was  said,  some  of  them 
killed,  and  the  country  people,  and  travellers  in  general,  were 
afraid  to  pursue  the  usual  road.  The  number  of  these  marau- 
ders was  so  variously  stated,  that  nothing  could  be  ascertain- 
ed, varying  from  one  hundred  to  ten  or  twelve.  We  prepared 
ourselves  for  meeting  them.  The  breakfast  tent  and  dark- 
horses  were  sent  on,  together  with  double  the  usual  detachment 
of  sepoys,  and  all  the  Rannee's  suwarrs,  amounting  to  a  dozen, 
who,  wild  and  unsoldieriy  as  was  their  appearance,  were  yet 


MOITZ  ABAD.  1  9 

very  likely  to  behave  well  in  case  of  need.  Thirty  sepoys 
formed  our  main  body,  and  five  our  rear-guard,  while  I  direct- 
ed Skinner's  men  to  remain  with  Dr.  Smith  and  me,  and  ar- 
ranged so  as  to  keep  our  parties  within  a  moderate  distance  of 
each  other.  Our  whole  numbers  were  likewise  prepared  for 
action,  the  sepoys  ordered  to  be  primed  and  loaded,  and  the 
horsemen  to  have  lighted  matches.  Abdullah,  with  much  gra- 
vity, brought  my  own  pistols,  observing  that  this  was  a  coun- 
try where  all  who  possessed  arms  should  carry  them.  I  had, 
however,  very  little  fear  that  any  of  these  warlike  preparations 
would  end  in  bloodshed,  and  was  indeed  chiefly  induced  to 
make  them  from  the  conviction  that  the  robbers,  if  there  were 
any  in  the  neighbourhood,  were  well  informed  of  all  our  move- 
ments, and  that  they  would  be  little  disposed  to  attack  us 
when  they  knew  we  were  on  our  guard.  Meanwhile  I  was 
surprised  to  find  how  the  number  of  the  camp  followers  had 
increased.  Dr.  Smith  saw  in  the  course  of  the  evening  two 
men  fighting  with  their  fists,  an  unusual  sight  in  India,  and  on 
inquiring  into  the  cause,  was  informed  that  they  were  pilgrims 
going  to  Ajmere,  who  had  taken  advantage  of  the  protection 
afforded  by  our  caravan,  and  had  followed  it  with  their  wives 
and  families  all  the  way  from  Meerut.  And  now  at  least  a 
dozen,  I  had  nearly  said  twenty,  country  people,  women  and 
children  came  up,  who  had  been  detained  on  the  road  by  fear 
of  the  plunderers,  and  hoped  to  get  past  safely  in  my  train. 
In  this  hope  they   were  not  disappointed. 

Next  morning,  February  the  3d,  we  performed  our  march 
in  much  peace,  through  a  very  wild  and  desolate  country, 
overgrown  with  brush-wood  and  long  grass,  but  on  these  ac- 
counts less  dismal  to  the  eye- than  the  tracts  of  naked  sterili- 
ty which  we  had  lately  traversed.  We  passed  two  ruined 
forts,  round  one  was  still  a  village,  and  adjoining  to  it  a  large 
encampment  of  gypsies. 

I  endeavoured  to  learn  some  particulars  of  the  recent  fray, 
but  did  not  succeed  in  any  considerable  degree.  It  seemed 
agreed  that  a  good  deal  of  money  and  silver  ornaments  had  been 
taken  from  the  traders,  that  these  last  made  no  resistance,  but 
that,  notwithstanding,  several  of  them  were  beaten  as  well  as 
stripped,  but  it  was  not  true  that  any  had  been  killed.  The 
robbery  had  taken  place  between  these  two  villages  in  the  wild 
country  which  I  have  mentioned,  but  who  the  assailants  were, 
how  many,  and  whence  they  came,  nobody  seemed  to  know. 

After  a  ride  of  seven  coss,  we  arrived  at  Mouzabad,  another 
rather  large  town,  with  a  ruined  wall,  a  mosque,  some  good  gar- 
dens, and  several  temples.  The  largest  of  these  was  called  by 
the  Rannee's  suwarr,  *'  Bunyan  ka  Mandur,"  the  Trader's 
Temple,  belonging  to  the  sect  of  Jains  of  whom  I  gave  an  account 

2* 


20  THAKOORS- 

from  Benares,  and  who  are  numerous  in  all  the  west  of  India, 
where  they  nearlj  engross  the  internal  traffic  of  the  country. 
This  building  was  externally  richly  carved,  and  appeared,  like 
that  which  I  had  seen  at  Benares,  to  contain  several  apartments; 
but  we  were  not  permitted  to  see  the  inside,  though  the  suwarrs, 
without  scruple,  took  us  into  the  court,  and  up  to  the  terraced 
roof,  walking  with  their  shoes  on,  in  high  contempt,  (as  became 
the  Rajpoot  "children  of  the  sun,")  both  of  the  tradesmen  and 
their  deity.  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  would,  at  a  word  speak- 
ing, have  made  a  way  for  us  to  the  very  sanctuary;  but  as  the 
Jains  seemed  evidently  in  pain,  and  anxious  that  we  should  go 
no  further,  I  thought  it  both  uncivil  and  inhuman  to  press  the 
point.  A  small  but  richly  carved  dome  rises  in  the  centre  of  this 
building,  and  beyond  this  again,  and,  as  I  conceive,  immediately 
over  the  image  of  Painnath,  three  high  pyramids  of  carved 
stone  are  raised  like  those  of  the  principal  temples  in  Benares. 

February  4. — From  Mouzabad  we  went  to  Hirsowlee,  six 
coss,  over  a  country  little  different  from  what  we  had  traversed 
since  Jyepoor,  equally  level,  equally  ill  cultivated  and  ill  inha- 
bited. Being  on  my  elephant  the  first  part  of  the  way,  I  saw  to 
my  rigiit  hand  at  the  distance  of  seven  or  eight  miles,  a  large 
piece  of  water  which  I  supposed  to  be  a  part  of  the  celebrated 
salt  lake  of  Sambur,  which  supplies  all  northern  and  western 
Hindostan  with  that  necessary.  I  could  not  positively  ascertain 
the  fact,  however,  at  the  time,  because  1  had  no  natives  of  the 
country  near  me,  being  attended  by  Skinner's  suwarrs.  I  asked 
the  Rannee's  people  when  we  came  up  with  them,  but  could 
only  learn  that  they  had  not  seen  it,  which  on  horseback  they 
certainly  could  not  do,  and  that  it  lay  several  coss  out  of  our 
way.  Our  own  course  w  as  evidently  not  a  direct  one,  and  1  as- 
certained the  cause  to  be  that  the  Rannee's  people  were  obliged 
to  take  us  to  those  places  only  where  there  were  crown  lands, 
or  where  the  Thakoors  were  disposed  to  respect  her  authority. 
Of  these  gentry  we  had  met  several  within  these  few  days,  ge- 
nerally seated  in  covered  carts  drawn  by  white  oxen  with  gilt 
horns,  and  escorted  by  men  armed  with  matchlocks  and  sabres. 
They  saluted  us  courteously  as  we  passed,  but  did  not  show 
any  desire  to  enter  into  conversation. 

We  had  to-day  also  a  proof,  which  I  did  not  expect,  that  the 
government  of  Jyepoor  was  not  quite  without  an  army,  since  we 
met  three  sepoys  who  said  they  were  in  the  Rannee's  pay,  and 
that  there  were  three  battalions  of  them.  They  were  in  scarlet 
uniforms,  so  exactly  like  those  of  the  Company's  army,  that  I 
should  have  had  no  doubt,  had  they  not  told  us  the  contrary,  that 
they  really  belonged  to  it.  One  of  the  suwarrs  spoke  very  un- 
favourably of  the  Rannee's  service.  His  pay,  he  said,  was  only 
four  rupees  and  a  half  per  month,  and  even  this  pittance  was 


NUPTIAL    PROCESSION.  21 

often  several  months  in  arrear.  He  made  shift,  he  said,  to  sup- 
port himself,  but  his  wife  and  children  at  home  were  starving. 
Dr.  Smith  asked  him  if  he  should  have  preferred  the  Company's 
service,  to  which  he  replied  that  it  was  a  very  good  service,  the 
best  in  India,  but  that  he  could  not  endure  the  strictness  of  the 
discipline,  and  above  all  the  corporal  punishment.  None  of  his 
race,  lie  said,  could  endure  a  blow.  He  who  spoke  this  was  a 
Patau  from  Rohilcund,  but  most  of  our  other  men  were  Rajpoots, 
distinguished  by  their  strings  and  their  badges  of  gilt  metal,  a  sun 
and  a  man  on  horseback,  which  they  wore  round  their  necks  in 
memory  oftheir  great  ancestor,  the  ''radiant  Surya, "  or  Apollo. 

Dr.  Smith,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  gave  these  poor  fellows 
what  they  considered  a  great  treat,  that  is,  a  lump  of  Malwah 
opium.  All  the  Rajpoots  indulge  in  this  practice,  and  many  to  a 
great  excess,  but  as  the  remainder  of  their  food  is  so  simple,  and 
they  touch  no  other  stimulant  of  any  kind,  it  of  course  does  them 
less  harm  than  Europeans.  Our  Rajpoot  escorthad  now  got  into 
so  high  good  humour  with  us,  that  nothing  could  surpass  their 
attention  and  attendance,  and  though  their  style  of  attention  was 
very  different  from  the  polished  and  profound  respect  of  the  Hin- 
doostanees,  it  had  so  much  apparent  cordiality  in  it  that  I  began 
to  be  much  pleased  with  them.  They  reminded  me  of  the  Tcher- 
noymorsky  Cossacks.  They  are  certainly  a  fine  looking  people, 
and  their  complexion  the  fairest  that  I  have  seen  in  India. 

We  walked  at  night  about  the  town,  which  has  a  mud  wall 
and  fortress,  with  a  very  deep  ditch.  The  bazar  is  large,  but 
the  principal  object  worth  seeing  is,  as  usual,  the  Jain  temple. 
We  were  amused  by  the  sight  of  a  splendid  nuptial  procession, 
on  account  of  the  betrothal  of  the  son  of  a  neighbouring  Raja 
to  the  daughter  of  a  Thakoor..  The  little  boy  passed  on  an  ele- 
phant, with  a  long  array  of  kettle  drums,  trumpets,  and  stand- 
ards before  him,  as  well  as  a  very  handsome  palanqueen,  in 
which  two  brothers,  still  younger  than  himself,  were  conveyed. 
In  his  passage  through  the  streets  of  the  town,  fire-works  were 
let  off  at  intervals,  and  all  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  as  well  as 
the  ramparts  of  the  fort,  were  covered  with  spectators.  The 
towns-people  were  very  civil  in  securing  us  a  good  place,  and 
seemed  pleased  with  the  interest  which  I  felt  in  the  show,  and 
with  my  wishing  the  little  bridegroom  ''good  luck."  They 
told  me  that  he  was  to  be  taken  for  that  evening  to  the  house 
of  his  new  father-in-law,  where  the  ceremony  of  affiancing 
took  place,  but  that  he  and  tlie  little  girl  were  to  remain  for 
some  years  with  their  respective  parents,  when  the  second  and 
real  marriage  would  be  celebrated. 

In  the  evening  I  took  leave  of  the  vakeel,  who,  before  he 
went,  delivered  a  long  message  from  the  Rannee,  expressive 
of  her  earnest  desire  that  I  would  stand  her  friend  with  go- 


3s  KANNEE    OP    JYEPOOR. 

yernment,  and  in  which  she  sought  to  justify  herself  for  her 
conduct  in  removing  the  Rawul,  and  employing  the  present 
minister.  She  was  anxious  that  I  should  take  charge  of  a  let- 
ter from  herself  to  Lord  Amherst,  and  her  messenger  dwelt 
much  on  her  great  desire  to  have  peace,  and  on  the  frauds  and 
peculations  of  which,  as  she  should  be  able  to  prove,  the  Rawul 
had  been  guilty.  I  told  the  vakeel  that  the  Maharannee  might 
depend  on  it,  that  the  British  government  had  not  the  least 
desire,  so  long  as  she  lived  in  peace,  and  governed  her  sub- 
jects mildly  and  justly,  to  diminish  her  authority,  or  lessen  her 
son's  territory.  That  I  did  not  think  such  a  letter  as  she 
wished  me  to  take  charge  of  could  be  of  any  use  to  her,  as  it 
was  the  custom  of  British  governors  to  settle  all  matters  of  state 
in  *'  Sudder,"  (council^)  and  before  Lord  Amherst  could  read 
her  letter,  it  must  be  translated,  and  by  thus  becoming  public 
might  do  her  injury,  as  giving  offence  to  Sir  David  Ochterlony 
and  Colonel  Raper.  That  she  might  depend  on  having  any 
paper  which  she  chose  to  send  through  these  two  officers  duly 
laid  before  government^  and  that  she  had  better  draw  up  as 
strong  a  memorial  as  she  could  for  that  purpose.  But  in  return 
for  the  civilities  which  I  had  received  from  her,  and  the  confi- 
dence she  had  reposed  in  me,  I  begged  leave  to  offer  two  pieces 
of  advice:  First,  I  had  heard  that  she  had  laid  out  a  great  deal 
of  money  among  different  sahibs  and  their  servants,  in  order 
to  gain  their  friendship  and  interest.  I  assured  her  that  she 
was  imposed  on  if  she  did  so 5  that  the  probability  w^as  that  the 
sahibs  knew  nothing  of  the  matter,  and  that  she  w  as  only  en- 
riching their  monshees^  but  that,  above  all,  there  was  no  sahib 
at  Agra,  Delhi,  or  elsewhere,  except  Colonel  Raper  and  Sir 
David  Ochterlony,  whose  friendship  and  interest  could  be  of 
any  use  to  her.  Secondly,  I  observed,  that  I  had  been  inform- 
ed she  had  ordered  one  of  her  female  attendants  to  be  put  to 
death  without  a  regular  trial,  and  that  others  v/ere  in  fear  of 
their  lives.  I  earnestly  urged  the  vakeel  to  tell  her  that  there 
was  nothing  which  could  do  her  so  much  harm  as  these  rash 
and  violent  proceedings,  since  there  was  nothing  which  shocked 
the  English  so  much.  That  if  her  servants  did  any  thing  worthy 
of  death,  it  was  good  to  bring  them  to  open  trial  according  to 
the  Hindoo  law,  and  before  the  usual  magistrates^  and  that  it 
was  desirable  at  this  time  to  prevent  slanderous  reports,  that 
whenever  sentence  of  death  was  lawfully  pronounced,  her 
Mooktar  should  state  the  circumstances  of  the  case  to  the  Re- 
sident. I  was  then  asked  if,  when  I  returned  to  Calcutta,  I 
would  allow  her  vakeel  there  to  visit  me,  and  consult  me  about 
her  affairs;  to  which  I  answered,  that  I  should  be  always  glad 
to  hear  of  her  prosperity;  and  I  said  also,  that  when  I  next  wrote 
4o  Lord  Amherst,  I  would  inform  him  of  the  kindness  and  at- 


BANDURSINDREE KISHENGHUR.  23 

tention  with  which  she  had  treated  me.  I  concluded  with  again 
advising  her  to  place  confidence  in  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  and  Co- 
lonel Raper,  and  to  do  her  utmost  to  secure  their  favourable 
opinions.  Having  thus  sent  her  the  best  advice  I  could,  I  gave 
the  vakeel  his  present  and  certificate  of  good  behaviour.  I  had 
been  so  much  dissatisfied  with  him  in  the  former  part  of  the 
march  that,  I  believe,  he  had  very  faint  expectations  of  either 
one  or  the  others  so  that  nothing  could  be  more  profound  than 
his  bows  and  professions  of  service  in  taking  leave. 

February  5.— <The  horsemen  attended  me  next  morning  as 
far  as  Bandursindree,  a  small  and  poor  town  in  the  little  prin- 
cipality of  Kishenghur,  where  we  found  some  servants  whom 
Mr.  Moore,  the  Resident  at  Ajmere,  had  sent  to  receive  me, 
and  the  jemautdar  of  the  village,  who  said  he  had  orders  from 
the  Raja  to  provide  every  thing  for  me. — From  Bandursindree 
to  Kishenghur  was,  I  found,  not  more  than  eight  miles,  and  as 
we  had  only  come  a  very  short  stage  this  day,  and  as  time  was 
precious  with  me,  I  made  arrangements  for  proceeding  to  Kis- 
henghur on  the  Sunday.  Had  I  been  able  to  obtain  good  informa- 
tion of  the  road,  I  should  have  gone  through,  this  day,  the 
whole  distance  from  Hirsowlee.  I  here  dismissed  my  Jyepoor 
bearers,  having  received  a  powerful  reinforcement  from  govern- 
ment, through  the  kindness  of  Captain  Burns,  head  of  the  com- 
missarat  of  Nusseerabad,  who,  having  heard  of  the  desertion 
of  my  people  at  Jyepoor,  forwarded  twenty  men  to  meet  me. 
At  Nusseerabad  no  ordinary  bearers  are  to  be  hired,  but  the 
commissarat  keep  forty  or  fifty  in  their  pay  for  government 
service;  and  the  letter's  which  government  had  written  con- 
cerning me,  directed  them  to  supply  me  with  every  assistance 
and  comfort  in  their  power.    - 

February  6.— From  Bandursindree  we  went  between  four 
and  five  coss  to  Kishenghur.  The  country,  half  way,  con- 
tinued open  and  barren.  Afterwards,  without  ceasing  to  be 
barren,  it  was  a  good  deal  covered  by  thorny  trees;  and  at 
length  we  ascended  a  rugged  chain  of  granite  hills,  which 
brought  us  to  Kishenghur,  with  its  walls  of  solid  and  substan- 
tial masonry,  its  castle  on  the  mountain  top,  and  its  gardens 
fenced  with  hedges  of  prickly  pear, — the  whole  something  like 
Jyepoor  in  miniature. — The  tents  were  pitched  in  a  stony  and 
ilusty  plain,  but  in  rather  a  pretty  situation  without  the  walls, 
and  enjoying  a  view  of  the  Raja's  palace,  a  large  but  rudely 
built  fort  on  the  banks  of  a  fine  pool  of  water,  with  a  margin 
of  green  corn-fields,  and  aback-ground  of  bare  and  rugged 
hills.  We  found  nothing  ready,  either  for  ourselves  or  for 
our  animals.  The  people,  though  civil,  would  furnish  no  sup- 
plies without  the  Raja's  orders,  and  he  had  married  a  new 
wife  the  day  before,  and  nobody  dared>  to  apply  to  him.    The 


24  KISHENGHUR. 

promises  of  payment  brought,  however,  a  scanty  supply,  and 
soon  afterwards,  about  ten  o'clock,  a  message  came  from  the 
Raja  in  Divan,  with  his  order  to  supply  whatever  was  want- 
ed, and  an  enquiry  whether  I  wished  him  to  cf#ll  on  me.  I 
returned  for  answer  that  I  had  no  design  to  give  him  that  trou- 
ble, and  that  I  intended  to  call  on  him  at  any  time  in  the  af- 
ternoon that  suited  him,  adding  that  it  was  not  my  custom  to 
go  out  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  that  I  was  obliged  to  leave 
Kishenghur  early  in  the  morning.  The  messenger  said  he 
would  bring  me  word  immediately,  but  never  returned,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  the  servants  ascribed  to  the  Raja's  having 
by  this  time  dosed  himself  with  opium.  The  result  saved  me 
some  trouble,  and  was  only  remarkable  as  being  inconsistent 
with  the  modesty  and  civility  of  the  first  message.  The  Raja 
was  described  to  me  as  a  young  man  of  twenty -five  or  twenty- 
six,  of  a  dissipated  character;  his  territory  is  small  and  barren, 
but  his  expenses  must  be  very  trifling,  except  so  far  as  his 
many  relations,  for  all  his  clan  consider  themselves  as  his 
kinsmen,  are  burdensome  to  him.  At  night  he  sent  me  some 
guides  for  our  next  day's  journey,  and  some  coolies,  whom  i 
did  not  want;  but,  to  my  surprise,  did  not  send  an  escort, 
which  I  had  asked  for  the  horses,  who  were  to  be  sent  on  half- 
way; he,  however,  alterwards  thought  better  of  it,  since  when 
we  set  out,  a  dozen  horsemen  presented  themselves,  but  too 
late  to  be  of  any  service.  The  corn  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Kishenghur,  I  was  sorry  to  see  a  good  deal  blighted,  as  if 
with  frost  after  rain.  We  had  had  no  rain  which  could  have 
done  mischief,  and  this  was  the  first  blight  which  I  had  seen 
in  Kajpootana,  The  soil  is  very  barren,  but  water  is  found 
every  where,  so  that  with  industry  and  good  fortune  plenty 
may  be  obtained.  On  these  light  soils  blight  is,  I  believe, 
always  most  fatal* 


25 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

AJMERE  TO  NEEMUCH. 

AJMERE REMARKABLE  FORTRESS MUSSULMAN  PLACE  OF  PIL- 
GRIMAGE—ENCAMPMENT   OF     BRINJARREES NUSSEERABAD 

— BHATS    AND    CHARUNS— CAPTAIN   TODD— BOOLES BHEEL 

MANNER    OF     FISHING BHEELS— RANAH    OF     OODEYPOOR 

OHITTORE ANECDOTE     OF     RANNEE— MARBLE     TOWER- 
NIGHT  BLINDNESS. 

February  7. — We  marched  to  Ajmere,  about  seventeen 
miles.  The  country  M'as  as  barren  as  ever,  but  more  hilly, 
and  saved  from  a  wearisome  uniformity  by  clusters  of  thorny 
trees  and  thickets  of  the  cactus.  Among  these  we  found  a 
considerable  number  of  camels  grazing,  and  were  passed  by 
some  irregular  troops  and  some  sepoys  in  red,  and  pretty 
nearly  equipped  like  those  in  the  company's  service,  who 
said  they  belonged  to  the  Maharaja  Sindia.  What  they  could 
be  doing  here  now  that  he  had  ceded  all  his  territories  in  this 
neighbourhood,  and  within  a  hundred  miles  of  it,  I  could  not 
conjecture.  Dr.  Smith,  who  put  the  question,  had  forgotten 
this  fact  or  would  have  asked  them  where  they  were  going, 
and  I,  having  supposed  that  they  belonged  to  the  company's 
service,'had  ridden  on  before,  and  did  not  hear  the  question  or 
reply.  They  were  all  infantry^  the  irregulars  had  matchlocks, 
swords  and  shields;  the  regulars  only  differed  from  our  troops 
as  having,  which  our  men  frequently  carry  when  on  a  journey, 
sabres  in  addition  to  their  musquets  and  bayonets.  The  cactus 
or  prickly  pear  grows  very  strong  on  these  barren  hills.  Dr. 
Clarke  in  his  travels  through  the  Holy  Land  speaks  of  it  as 
likely  in  certain  latitudes  to  afford  an  impenetrable  fortifica- 
tion, and  I  now  asked  Dr.  Smith  if  it  were  ever  used  in  the 
*'  bound  hedge"  of  an  Indian  town.  He  answered  that  it  was 
found  very  easy  to  cut  down  either  with  axe  or  sabre ;  and 
that  nothing  answered  so  well  as  a  thick  plantation  of  bam- 
boos, which,  though  not  prickly,  are  impenetrable,  and  can 
be  neither  burnt  nor  cut  down  without  great  loss  of  time  and 
risque  from  the  fire  of  the  besieged.  The  union  of  the  two, 
as  in  the  fortification  of  Marapoor,  which  I  have  previously 
mentioned,  would  seem  the  best. 

I  was  disappointed  in  the  first  view  of  Ajmere,  which  I  had 
expected  to  find  a  large  city,  but  which  is  only  a  well-built, 


26  AJMERE. 

moderate-sized  town,  on  the  slope  of  a  high  hill,  or  what  really 
deserves  the  name  of  mountain.  The  buildings  are  chiefly 
whitewashed,  and  the  surrounding  rocks  have  some  thorny 
trees  and  brushwood  on  them,  which  hide  their  barrenness, 
and  make  a  good  back-ground  to  the  little  ruinous  Mosques 
and  Mussulman  tombs,  which  are  scattered  round  the  circuit 
of  this  holy  city.  Above,  on  the  mountain  top,  is  a  very  re- 
markable fortress  called  Taraghur,  nearly  two  miles  in  circuit, 
but,  from  its  irregular  shape  and  surface  not  capable  of  con- 
taining more  than  1200  men.  It  is,  however,  a  magnificent 
place  of  arms  in  many  respects.  The  rock  is,  in  most  parts 
quite  inaccessible;  it  has  an  abundant  supply  of  good  water, 
in  all  seasons,  from  tanks  and  cisterns  cut  in  the  live  rock. 
There  are  bomb-proofs  to  a  vast  extent,  and  store-houses  like 
wells,  where  corn,  ghee,  &c.  used  to  be  kept,  and,  with  very 
little  improvement  from  European  skill,  it  might  easily  be 
made  a  second  Gibraltar.  It  is,  however,  no  part  of  the  policy 
of  the  British  Government  in  India  to  rely  on  fortresses,  and 
the  works  are  now  fast  going  to  decay. 

The  main  attraction  of  Ajmere  in  the  eyes  of  its  Mussul- 
man visitors,  is  the  tomb  of  Shekh  Kajah  Mowud  Deen,  a  cele- 
brated saint,  whosp  miracles  are  renowned  all  over  India. 
The  Emperor  Acbar,  great  and  wise  man  as  he  was,  and  sus- 
pected of  placing  little  faith  in  the  doctrines  of  Islam,  made 
nevertheless  a  pilgrimage  on  foot  to  this  place  to  implore,  at 
the  saint's  tomb,  the  blessing  of  male  oftspring.  The  crowd  of 
pilgrims  who  met  us,  or  whom  we  overtook  during  the  last 
three  or  four  days,  showed  how  much  the  shrine  is  still  in 
fashion;  and  in  Malwah  it  is  not  uncommon  for  pilgrims  who 
have  been  at  the  Ajmere  Durgah  to  set  up  a  brick  or  a  stone 
taken  from  the  sanctuary,  near  their  dwelling,  and  to  be- 
come saints  themselves,  and  have  pilgrimages  made  to  them 
in  consequence  of  such  a  possession. 

Nor  are  they  Mussulmans  alone  who  reverence  this  tomb. 
The  Sindia  family,  while  masters  of  Ajmere,  were  magnifi- 
cent benefactors  to  its  shrine,  and  my  own  sirdar  and  the 
goomashta  Cashiram  were  quite  as  anxious  to  come  hither  as 
if  it  had  been  to  one  of  their  own  holy  places.  I  regret  that  I 
could  not  see  it,  but  we  were  encamped  at  some  distance  from 
the  city,  and  it  blew  all  day  long  a  dry  north-wester  which 
filled  the  air  in  such  a  manner  with  dust  as  to  make  going  about 
extremely  painful.  I  sate  waiting  in  my  tent  in  the  hope  that 
it  might  abate  towards  evening;  but  it  only  became  bearable 
as  it  grew  dusk,  and  the  account  which  1  heard  of  the  tomb 
from  Mr.  Moore  was  not  such  as  to  lead  me  to  incur  any  great 
inconvenience  in  order  to  visit  it.  My  servants  described  it 
as  of  white  marble,  with  a  great  deal  of  golden  and  silver  or- 


AJMERE NUSSEERABAD.  27 

Tiament;  but  Mr.  Moore  said,  that  though  rich,  it  was  neither 
finely  carved  nor  of  any  particular  curiosity. 

The  Emperors  of  Delhi  showed  favour  in  many  ways  to  Aj- 
mere,  but  in  none  more  than  in  a  noble  fresh-water  lake  which 
they  made  just  above  the  city,  by  damming  up  the  gorge  of  an 
extensive  valley,  and  conveying  different  small  rills  into  it. 
The  result  is  a  fine  sheet  of  water  now  four  miles,  and  during 
the  rains  six  miles  in  circumference,  sufficient  in  industrious 
hands  to  give  fertility  to  all  the  neighbourhood.  As  it  is,  it  af- 
fords the  means  of  irrigation  to  a  large  district  on  its  banks, 
supplies  abundance  of  excellent  water  to  the  citizens  of  Ajmere, 
is  full  of  fish,  and  would,  if  there  were  any  boats,  be  an  ex- 
cellent place  for  sailing. 

Mr.  Moore  lives  in  a  small  house  fitted  up  out  of  a  summer- 
house  erected  by  Shah  Jehanguire  on  the  very  ''bund"  or  dam 
of  this  lake,  and  with  its  waters  beatinsrao-ainstthe  basement. 
The  building  is  prettily  carved  and  lined  with  white  marble, 
but  a  much  meaner  edifice  would,  in  such  a  situation,  be  de- 
lightful. There  is  no  flood-gate  in  the  bund,  nor  does  any 
water  escape  that  way ;  whatever  is  superfluous  being  divert- 
ed right  hand  and  left  and  employed  in  agriculture. 

Three  coss  west  of  Ajmere  is  a  celebrated  Hindoo  temple 
named  Pokur,  which,  from  the  remoteness  of  its  situation  from 
the  more  populous  parts  of  Hindostan,  is  an  object  of  much  in- 
terest and  curiosity  with  people  from  the  east  and  the  Deccan. 

My  tent  was  very  nearly  blown  over  in  the  hurricane  of  to- 
day, and  every  thing  in  it  filled  with  sand,  from  my  bed  to  my 
book  boxes  and  inkstand.  But  though  longer  in  duration, 
the  storm  was  not  greater  in  violence  than  some  which  I  have 
seen  in  Calcutta. 

February  8. — We  proceeded  to  Nusseerabad,  fourteen  very 
iong  miles,  over  a  sandy  and  rocky  plain,  bordered  on  each  side 
by  mountains  which  would  have  been  picturesque  had  they  had 
a  less  bleak  and  barren  fore-ground.  The  hills  are  now  much 
improved  in  size  ;  the  little  dells  and  stony  plains  between 
their  ranges  are  inhabited  by  a  race  of  people  called  Mhairs, 
nominal  Mussulmans,  but  paying  no  real  regard  to  religion  of 
any  kind,  and  robbers  by  profession.  Brigadier  Knox  told  me 
that  he  had  on  first  coming  into  this  district  a  good  deal  of  trou- 
ble with  them.  Sindia  had  never  been  able  to  tame  them;  and 
our  troops  found  much  difficulty  in  following  them  into  their 
mountain  fastnesses.  They  were  brought  at  length  to  ask  for 
an  audience  of  the  General,  and  like  the  Puharrees  of  Rajma- 
hal,  whom  they  seem  greatly  to  resemble,  were  easily  concili- 
ated on  their  being  promised  protection  from  their  lowland 
neighbours,  and  obtaining  an  immunity  of  their  lands  from  tri- 
bute.    A  corps  of  light  troops  hasbeert  raised  among  them  to 

Vol.   II.— -3. 


28  NUSSEERABAD. 

their  delight,  and  they  have  been  both  brave  and  faithful  under 
British  officers.  Brigadier  Knox  apprehends  them  to  be  of  the 
same  race  with  the  Bheels  and  the  other  inhabitants  of  the 
mountainous  parts  of  India. 

We  passed  a  large  encampment  of  "Brinjarrees,"  or  carriers 
of  grain,  a  singular  wandering  race,  who  pass  their  whole  time 
in  transporting  this  article  from  one  part  of  the  country  to  an- 
other, seldom  on  their  own  account,  but  as  agents  for  more 
"wealthy  dealers.  They  move  about  in  large  bodies  with,  their 
wives,  children,  dogs,  and  loaded  bullocks.  The  men  are  all 
armed  as  a  protection  against  petty  thieves.  From  the  sove- 
reigns and  armies  of  Hindostan  they  have  no  apprehensions. 
Even  contending  armies  allow  them  to  pass  and  repass  safely, 
rever  taking  their  goods  without  purchase,  or  even  preventing 
them  if  they  choose  from  victualling  their  enemy's  camp. 
Both  sides  wisely  agree  to  respect  and  encourage  a  branch  of 
industry,  the  interruption  of  which  might  be  attended  with 
fatal  consequences  to  both.  How  well  would  it  be  if  a  similar 
liberal  feeling  prevailed  between  the  belligerents  of  Europe ; 
and  how  much  is  our  piratical  system  of  warfare  put  to  shame 
in  this  respect  by  the  practice  of  those  whom  we  call  barbarians ! 

Nusseerabad  is  a  pleasanter  place  than,  from  all  the  bad  re- 
ports I  had  heard  of  it,  1  had  expected.  The  cantonments  are 
very  regular  and  convenient,  the  streets  of  noble  width,  and 
there  are  a  sufficientnumber  of  stunted  parkinsonias  about  the 
gardens  to  save  the  view  from  that  utter  nakedness  which  is 
usually  seen  in  Rajpootana.  Many  wells  and  two  or  three  large 
tanks  have  been  constructed  since  the  English  fixed  here,  but 
most  of  the  water  is  brackish.   Garden  vegetables  thrive  w'ell, 
though  the  soil  is  light  and  the  rock  is  very  near  the  surface, 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  thepeepul  and  many  other  trees  would 
succeed  if  planted  sulBciently  thick  in  the  first  instance.  They 
would  be  a  great  accession  to  the  place,  not  only  for  beauty  but 
for  shade,  for  shelter  from  the  bitter  winds,  and  diminishing 
the  quantity  of  dust  which  is  the  chief  plague  of  the  station. 
In  contradiction  to  all  I  had  been  previously  told,  I  find  that 
Nusseerabad  is,  even  now,  perhaps  the  healthiest  station  in  In- 
dia ;  and  the  climate  is  pleasant  at  all  times  except  during 
the  hot  winds.     The  rains  in  this  parched  land  are  welcom- 
ed as  refreshing,   and  seldom  are  sufficiently  steady  to  keep 
people  at  home  a  whole  day  together.     The  force  stationed 
here  is  considerable,  and  1  found  a  more  numerous  society 
than  I  expected  in  so  remote  a  spot,   and  which  had  been  re- 
presented to  me  in  such  gloomy  colours.    Fruit-trees  will  not 
grow  here,  but  they  have  abundant  supplies  from  Pokur,  the 
place  of  pilgrimage  which  I  have  just  mentioned,  and  which 
is  renowned  for  its  gardens  and  vineyards.     The  grapes  are 


CASTLE    OF    JOUDPOOR.  29 

by  far  the  best  and  largest  in  India,  and  equal  to  those  of 
Shiraz.  Sindia  still  retains  a  house  and  garden  at  Pokur;  so 
that  it  is  probable  his  troops,  whom  we  met  the  other  day, 
were  going  to  do  duty  there.  The  sanctity  of  the  place  is  re- 
nowned all  over  India,  but  of  its  beauty  and  fertility  I  had 
never  heard  before.  The  country  indeed  of  Rajpootana,  as  I 
was  now  given  to  understand,  does  not  increase  in  sterility  in 
proportion  to  its  approach  to  the  western  desert.  Captain 
Sandys,  the  Quarter  Master  General  of  the  district,  had  tra- 
velled considerably  beyond  Joudpoor ;  and  he  described  the 
whole  province  of  Marwar  as  better  soil  and  in  a  better  state 
of  cultivation  than  either  Jyepoor,  Ajmere,  or  Meywar  (the 
south-western  tract  including  Oodeypoor  and  Neemuch.)  Mar- 
war,  indeed,  escaped  better  during  the  troubles,  as  being  far- 
ther otF  from  the  Pindarrees.  The  wells  are  very  deep,  and 
agriculture  therefore  expensive.  The  villages,  however,  were 
in  a  good  state,  the  corn  looking  well  and  covering  a  large 
surface,  and  the  cotton  the  finest  he  had  ever  seen.  The  oxen 
and  sheep,  also,  give  evidence  of  the  goodness  of  their  pas- 
ture, being  the  largest  and  most  highly  prized  in  all  this  part 
of  India.  A  pair  of  good  Marwar  bullocks,  fit  for  drawing  a 
native  carriage  and  trained  to  trot,  will  be  reckoned  cheap  at 
from  150  to  200  rupees,  and  those  in  Sind  are  still  dearer. 

The  castle  of  Joudpoor,  in  which  the  Raja  resides,  Captain 
Sandys  described  as  extremely  magnificent^  and  a  drawing 
which  he  showed  me  fully  confirmed  his  statement.  It  is  as 
large  as  Windsor,  less  strikingly  situated,  and  of  more  simple 
and  solid  architecture,  but  in  many  respects  fully  equal  to  its 
rival.  It  is  strange  to  find  such  buildings  in  such  a  country. 
In  England  I  should  hardly -be  believed,  if  I  said  that  a  petty 
Raja,  in  the  neigbourhood  of  the  salt  desert,  had  a  palace  lit- 
tle less  or  less  magnificent  than  Windsor. 

During  my  stay  at  Nusseerabad,  I  was  the  guest  of  Briga- 
dier Knox,  the  oldest  cavalry  officer  now  in  India,  and  who 
has  not  seen  England  since  he  was  a  boy.  His  house  had  as 
yet  been  the  only  place  for  divine  service,  but  was  not  nearly 
large  enough  for  the  station.  There  is  a  ball-room  of  sufficient 
size,  but  objections  had  been  made  to  using  this  as  a  Church 
also,  which  I  soon  obviated,  and  the  place  was  directed  to  be 
got  ready  for  Sunday.  On  the  Saturday  preceding  I  held  a 
Confirmation,  when  I  administered  the  rite  to  27  people,  the 
good  old  Brigadier  at  their  head.  On  Sunday  I  had  a  congre- 
gation of  about  120,  of  whom  32  staid  for  the  Sacrament. 
This  was  an  interesting  sight  in  a  land  where  15  years  ago 
very  few  Christians  had  ever  penetrated. 

Timber  is  excessively  dear,  and  all  articles  of  wooden  fur- 
niture proportionably  scarce.     When  ladies  and  gentlemen 


30  NUSSEERABAD ^BUNAEE. 

go  out  to  dinner  parties,  they  send  their  own  chairs,  as  well 
as  their  own  plates,  Icnives,  and  forks,  a  custom  borrowed 
from  the  camp,  and  very  sensible  and  convenient.  At  church 
also  every  bwly  was  to  bring  their  own  chairsj  but  as  the  sol 
diers  had  very  few  of  them  any  thing  like  a  seat,  I  begged 
that  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  would  send  what  supply  they 
could  spare  for  their  use.  A  curious  muster  was  accordingly 
made  of  all  the  chairs  in  the  cantonment,  but  there  were  still 
more  people  than  seats.  The  good  nature  with  which  my  re- 
quest v.'as  met  pleased  me  extremely. 

European  articles  are,  as  might  be  expected,  very  dear.  The 
shops  are  kept  by  a  Greek  and  two  Parsees  from  Bombay, 
They  had  in  their  list  all  the  usual  items  of  a  Calcutta  ware- 
house. English  cotton  cloths,  both  white  and  printed,  are  to 
be  met  with  commonly  in  wear  among  the  people  of  the  coun- 
try; and  may,  I  learned  to  my  surprise,  be  bought  best  and 
cheapest,  as  well  as  all  kinds  of  hardware,  crockery,  writing- 
desks,  &c.  at  Pallee,  a  large  town  and  celebrated  mart  in 
Marwar  on  the  edge  of  the  desert,  several  days  journey  west 
of  Joudpoor,  where,  till  very  lately,  no  European  was  Known 
to  have  penetrated. 

I  here  exchanged  my  escort  of  sepoys,  I  believe,  with  mu- 
tual regret.  They,  as  their  commander,  Colonel  Thomas,  told 
me,  made  a  formal  application  to  go  on  with  me  to  my  journey's 
endj  and  I,  on  hearing  this,  expressed  the  same  desire.  They 
were,  however,  wanted  in  their  regiment  after  this  long  ab- 
sence; and  the  more  so  because,  without  them,  that  regiment, 
in  consequence  of  the  numbers  which  had  been  distributed  on 
different  services,  was  almost  a  skeleton. 

February  14. — I  had  intended  to  leave  Nusseerabad  to-day, 
but  my  course  was  arrested  by  the  painful  news  of  the  illness 
of  my  poor  baby.  My  first  impression  was  to  set  out  imme- 
diately, by  the  way  of  Saugor,  for  the  Ganges;  but  reflecting 
that  at  Neemuch  I  should  receive  further  intelligence,  and  be 
better  able  to  decide  as  to  the  propriety  of  returning,  I  resolved 
to  go  on;  Captain  Fagan,  the  Post-master,  having  very  kindly 
ordered  one  of  the  servants  of  his  offtce  to  go  with  me,  who 
was  empowered  to  open  and  examine  any  Dak  packets  which 
might  pass  us. 

Accordingly,  on  February  1 5th,  I  quitted  Nusseerabad,  a 
place  which  I  found  so  much  pleasanter  than  it  had  been  de- 
scribed to  me,  tjjat  I  have,  perhaps,  thought  too  favourably  of 
it.  Its  inhabitants,  however,  certainly  spoke  well  of  it;  and 
of  them  I  have  every  reason  to  think  and  speak  highly.  I  have 
not,  in  all  India,  met  with  a  better  informed,  a  more  unaffect- 
ed and  hospitable  society.  We  marched  19  miles  to  Bunaee, 
a  good-sized  town,  situated  at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  ranges  ol" 


DEEOLEA DABLA  31 

mountains  seen  from  Nusseerabad,  with  a  little  old  castle  on 
an  adjoining  rock,  and  a  good  many  spreading  trees  round  its 
base,  which  in  this  country  are  a  very  unusual  and  valuable 
ornament.  The  people  of  the  place  begged  that  we  would  not 
deface  these  trees  by  cutting  them  for  our  elephants  and  ca- 
mels. A  great  part  of  the  trade  of  their  town,  they  said,  de- 
pended on  them,  inasmuch  as  a  religious  fair  was  held  annu- 
ally under  their  shade.  This  was  just  over,  and  we  had  met 
during  our  march  a  number  of  people  returning  from  it.  Of 
course  I  complied  with  a  wish  so  natural,  and  purchased  in 
consequence  300  little  bundles  of  maize  straw,  as  food  for  the 
three  elephants. 

The  Greek  shopkeeper  of  Nusseerabad,  a  Mr.  Athanass,  a 
very  decent  man,  rode  after  me  to  this  place  to  ask  my  bless- 
ing, being  the  only  Christian  bishop  whom  he  had  seen  since 
he  had  left  Smyrna.  He  said  he  usually  attended  the  worship 
of  the  Church  of  England,  but  had  been  ill  on  the  morning  of 
last  Sunday.  He  had  been  sixteen  years  in  India,  had  a  bro- 
ther, also  a  shopkeeper,  at  Meerut,  and  their  family,  he  said, 
for  two  or  three  generations,  had  come  out  to  make  little  com- 
petencies in  the  East,  and  had  returned  to  spend  the  evening 
of  their  lives  in  their  native  country.  He  was  very  anxious 
to  hear  news  from  Greece,  and  I  felt  sorry  that  I  had  nothing 
good  to  tell  him.  I  prevailed  on  him  to  eat  some  cold  meat 
and  drink  some  claret,  but  he  would  not  sit  down  in  the  same 
room  with  me.  Dr.  Smith  and  I  were  lodged  in  an  empty 
bungalow,  one  of  several  constructed  along  this  road  for  the  con- 
venience of  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  but  which  all  travellers  may 
make  use  of.  They  are  sorry  buildings  of  stone,  thatched, 
with  no  furniture,  nor  any  better  doors  and  windows  than 
pieces  of  matting;  they,  however,  save  the  trouble  of  pitching 
tents,  and  answer  every  purpose  for  which  they  were  intended. 

The  Raja,  or  Thakoor  of  the  place,  who  resides  in  the  little 
fort  already  mentioned,  is  a  child,  and  his  mother  sent  to  al- 
lege his  tender  age  as  a  reason  for  his  not  calling  on  me.  In 
the  town,  where  we  walked  in  the  evening,  are  two  very  ele- 
gant light  temples. 

February  16. — We  went  to  Deeolea,  six  coss.  It  is  a  small 
shabby  town,  with  a  mud  rampart  and  a  ruinous  castle.  The 
soil  apparently  improves  as  we  go  south,  but  the  country  is 
sadly  burnt  up,  and  bare  of  every  thing  but  thorny  trees,  which 
are  pretty  thickly  scattered  in  some  places. 

February  17. — We  proceeded  seven  coss  to  Dabla,  a  poor 
town  like  the  last,  at  which  w^e  entered  on  the  territories  of  the 
Ranah  of  Oodeypoor,  and  were  met  by  one  of  the  servants  of 
Captain  Cobbe,  British  Resident  at  that  court,  who  had  pre- 
pared every  thing  necessary  for  me.    'I  found  here  another 


32  ZALIM  SINGH BHATS. 

letter  from  home,  with  a  more  favourable  account  of  the  infanf ? 
but  a  bad  account  of  my  eldest  girl.  Now,  however,  I  mu&t 
proceed  to  Neemuch. 

All  this  country  is  strangely  desolate;  yet  the  number  of 
tombs  and  ruins  which  we  passed  proved  that  it  had  been  well 
inhabited  at  no  very  distant  period.  Oodeypoor  was,  indeed, 
the  district  which  suffered  most  from  the  Pindarrees,  and 
from  two  of  the  chieftains  who  had  the  greatest  influence  with 
those  horrible  robbers,  Bappoo  Sindia,  a  cousin  of  the  Maha 
Raja,  and  Jumsheed  Khan.  The  only  district  which  escaped 
was  the  territory  of  Kotah,  then  administered,  during  the 
Ranah's  minority,  by  the  Regent  Zalim  Singh,  of  whose  cha- 
racter and  many  virtues  an  interesting  account  may  be  found 
in  Sir  John  Malcolm's  "Central  India,"  and  who  by  firmness, 
personal  popularity,  and  the  able  employment  of  very  limited 
means,  made  his  little  country  a  sort  of  Eden  amid  the  sur- 
rounding misery,  and  his  court  to  be  renowned  as  an  asylum 
for  the  exiled  and  unfortunate  from  every  neighbouring  prin- 
cipality. He  died  a  few  years  ago,  loved  by  his  own  subjects 
and  reverenced  even  by  the  worst  and  most  lawless  of  his 
neighbours.  During  the  time  of  Colonel  Monson's  disastrous 
expedition  and  retreat  through  tiiese  provinces,  Zalim  Singh 
otFered  to  open  his  gates  to  his  distressed  army,  and  protect 
them  during  the  wliole  rainy  season,  provided  Monson  would 
guarantee  to  him  the  British  protection  against  the  subsequent 
vengeance  of  Jeswunt  Row  Holcar.  But  he  was  incurable 
in  his  feelings  of  dislike  and  distrust  towards  all  the  natives 
of  Hindostan.  He  would  not  so  much  as  confide  in  the  valour 
and  loyalty  of  his  own  sepoys,  far  less  in  that  of  a  stranger; 
and  he  had,  perhaps,  no  authority  for  promising  the  alliance 
of  his  government  to  any  native  power  so  distant  as  Zalim 
Singh  was  from  the  then  frontier  of  the  Company.  The  gene- 
rous offer  of  the  Regent  was,  however,  very  properly  remem- 
bered and  rewarded  when  the  British  became  paramount  in 
Rajpootana. 

A  ''Bhat"  or  Bard  came  to  ask  a  gratuity.  I  desired  him 
first  to  give  a  specimen  of  his  art,  on  which  he  repeated  some 
lines  of  so  pure  Hindoo,  that  I  could  make  out  little  or  nothing 
except  ''Bhadrinath,"  "Duccun,"  and  other  words  expressive 
of  immense  extent,  and  of  the  different  parts  of  the  compass; 
the  poetry  was  in  praise  of  the  vast  conquests  of  the  British. 
He  only  repeated  a  very  few  lines,  and  seemed  unwilling  to  go 
on,  on  which  one  of  the  bystanders,  a  Dilk  peon,  reproached 
him  for  his  idleness,  and  rattled  off*  twenty  lines  of  the  same 
language  in  high  style  and  with  much  animation,  as  a  sort  of 
challenge  to  an  Amoeb^ean  contest.  He  spoke  so  rapidly  that 
I  caught  even  less  of  his  meaning  than  of  the  bard's  before, 


BHATS.  33 

but  the  measure  struck  me  as  very  nearly  approaching  to  the 
hexameter.  The  bard  rejoined  with  considerable  vehemence, 
and  I  perceived  that  like  the  corresponding  contests  of  the 
shepherds  in  Theocritus  and  Virgil,  the  present  trial  of  skill 
would  soon  degenerate  into  a  scolding  match,  and  therefore 
dismissed  both  parties,  (according  to  the  good  old  custom  of 
Daphnis  and  other  similar  arbiters,)  giving  each  a  small 
gratuity. 

The  Bhats  are  a  sacred  order  all  through  Rajpootana.  Their 
race  was  especially  created  by  Mahadeo  for  the  purpose  of 
guarding  his  sacred  bull;  but  they  lost  this  honourable  office 
through  their  cowardice.  The  god  had  a  pet  lion  also,  and  as  the 
favourite  animals  were  kept  in  the  same  apartment,  the  bull  was 
eaten  almost  every  day,  in  spite  of  all  the  noise  which  the  Bhats 
could  make,  greatly  to  the  grief  of  Siva,  and  to  the  increase  of 
his  trouble,  since  he  had  to  create  a  new  bull  in  the  room  of 
every  one  which  fell  a  victim  to  the  ferocity  of  his  companion. 
Under  these  circumstances  the  deity  formed  a  new  race  of  men, 
theCharuns,  of  equal  piety  and  tuneful  powers,  but  more  cou- 
rageous than  the  Bhats,  and  made  them  the  wardens  of  his  me- 
nagerie. The  Bhats,  however,  still  retained  their  functions  of 
singing  the  praises  of  gods  and  heroes,  and,  as  the  liereditary 
guardians  of  history  and  pedigree,  are  held  in  higher  estimation 
than  even  the  brahmins  themselves,  among  the  haughty  and  fierce 
nobles  of  Rajpootana.  In  the  yet  wilder  districts  to  the  south- 
west, tlie  more  warlike  Gharun,  however,  take  their  place  in  po- 
pular reverence.  A  few  years  back  it  was  usual  for  merchants 
or  travellers  going  through  Malwah  and  Guzerat  to  hire  a  Cha- 
run  to  protect  them,  and  the  sanctity  of  his  name  was  generally 
sufficient.  If  robbers  appeared,  he  stepped  forwards  ^v'aving  his 
long  white  garments,  and  denouncing,  in  verse,  infamy  and  dis- 
grace on  all  who  should  injure  travellers  under  the  protection  of 
the  holy  minstrel  of  Siva.  If  this  failed  he  stabbed  himself  with 
his  dagger,  generally  in  the  left  arm,  declaring  that  his  blood  was 
on  their  heads;  and,  if  all  failed,  he  was  bound  in  honour  to  stab 
himself  to  the  heart,  a  catastrophe  of  which  there -was  little  dan- 
ger, since  the  violent  death  of  such  a  person  was  enough  to  de- 
vote the  NVhole  land  to  barrenness,  and  all  who  occasioned  it  to 
an  everlasting  abode  in  Padalon. 

The  Bhats  protect  nobody;  but  to  kill  or  beat  one  of  them 
would  be  regarded  as  very  disgraceful  and  ill-omened;  and  pre- 
suming on  this  immunity,  and  on  the  importance  attached  to  that 
sort  of  renown  which  it  confers,  they  are  said  often  to  extort  mo- 
ney from  their  wealthy  neighbours  by  promises  of  spreading 
their  great  name,  and  threats  ofmaking  them  infamous,  and  even 
of  blasting  their  prospects.  A  wealthy  merchant  in  Indoresome 
years  since,  had  a  quarrel  with  one  of  these  men,  who  made  a 


34  CAPTAIN   TODD. 

clay  image  which  he  called  after  the  merchant's  name,  and  daily 
in  the  bazar  and  in  the  different  temples  addressed  it  with  bitter 
and  reproachful  language,  intermixed  with  the  most  frightful 
curses  which  an  angry  poet  could  invent.  There  was  no  redress, 
and  the  merchant,  though  a  man  of  great  power  and  influence  at 
court,  was  advised  to  bribe  him  into  silence^  this  he  refused  to 
do,  and  the  matter  went  on  for  several  months,  till  a  number  of 
the  merchant's  friends  subscribed  a  considerable  sum,  of  which, 
with  much  submission  and  joining  hands,  they  intreated  the 
Bhat  to  accept.  "  Alas !"  was  his  answer,  "  why  was  not  this 
done  before?  Had  I  been  conciliated  in  time,  your  friend  might 
yet  have  prospered.  But  now,  though  I  shall  be  silent  hence- 
forth, I  have  already  said  too  much  against  him,  and  when  did 
the  imprecations  of  a  bard,  so  long  persisted  in,  fall  to  the  ground 
unaccomplished?"  The  merchant,  as  it  happened,  was  really 
overtaken  by  some  severe  calamities,  and  the  popular  faith  in 
the  powers  of  the  minstrel  character,  is  now  more  than  ever  con- 
firmed. 

I  find  that  the  European  complexion  and  dress  are  greater 
objects  of  curiosity  here  than  I  should  have  expected;  of  both 
they  see  many  specimens  in  officers  travelling  through  the  coun- 
try, and  their  own  tint  is  so  much  lighter  than  that  of  the  people 
of  Bengal,  that  my  habituated  eyes  have  ceased  almost  to  con- 
sider them  as  different  from  Europeans.  I  can  perceive,  how- 
ever, in  the  crowds  of  women  and  children  who  come  out  to  see 
us,  that  Dr.  Smith  and  I  are  lions  of  the  first  magnitude;  and  an 
instance  which  happened  this  day  shows  that  we  are  reckoned 
formidable  lions  too.  A  girl  of  abouttwelve  years  old,  whom  we 
met  in  our  walk  round  the  town,  stopped  short,  and  exclaimed 
in  a  voice  almost  amounting  to  a  cry,  "Alas  mighty  sir,  (''  ma- 
haraja,")  do  not  hurt  me!  I  am  a  poor  girl,  and  have  been  car- 
rying bread  to  my  father."  What  she  expected  me  to  do  to  her 
I  cannot  tell,  but  I  have  never  before  been  addressed  in  terms 
so  suitable  to  an  Ogre. 

All  the  provinces  of  Meywar  were,  for  a  considerable  time 
after  their  connexion  with  the  British  government,  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Captain  Todd,  whose  name  appears  to  be  held  in 
a  degree  of  affection  and  respect  by  all  the  upper  and  middling 
classes  of  society,  highly  honourable  to  him,  and  sufficient  to 
rescue  these  poor  people  from  the  often  repeated  charge  of  ingra- 
titude. Here,  and  our  subsequent  stages,  we  were  continually 
asked  by  the  cutwals,  &c.  after  "Todd  Sahib,"  whether  his 
health  was  better  since  he  returned  to  England,  and  whether 
there  was  any  chance  of  their  seeing  him  again?  On  being  told 
it  was  not  likely,  they  all  expressed  much  regret,  saying,  that 
the  country  had  never  known  quiet  till  he  came  among  them, 
and  that  every  body,  whether  rich  or  poor,  except  thieves  and 


MERCHANTS    OF    BICCANERE.  35 

Pindarrees,  loved  him.  He,  in  fact,  Dr.  Smith  told  me,  loved 
the  people  of  this  country,  and  understood  their  language  and 
manners  in  a  very  unusual  degree.  He  was  on  terms  of  close 
friendship  with  Zalim  Singh  of  Kotah,  and  has  left  a  name  there 
as  honourable  as  in  Oodeypoor.  His  misfortune  was  that,  in 
consequence  of  his  favouring  the  native  princes  so  much,  the 
government  of  Calcutta  were  led  to  suspect  him  of  corruption, 
and  consequently  to  narrow  his  powers  and  associate  other 
officers  with  him  in  his  trust,  till  he  was  disgusted  and  resign- 
ed his  place.  They  are  now  I  believe,  well  satisfied  that  their 
suspicions  were  groundless.  Captain  Todd  is  strenuously  vin- 
dicated from  the  charge  by  all  the  officers  with  whom  I  have 
conversed,  and  some  of  whom  have  had  abundant  means  of 
knowing  what  the  natives  themselves  thought  of  him. 

There  is  a  castle  at  Dabla,  but  much  dilapidated.  The  Tha- 
koor,  its  owner,  is  in  disgrace,  and  has  sought  refuge  at  Kotah, 
where  he  now  resides  in  exile;  the  supplies  were  consequently 
scanty  and  dear,  and  the  elephants  had  to  go  a  long  way  before 
any  trees  could  be  found  for  their  forage.  What  was  worse  still, 
a  good  deal  of  altercation  and  recrimination  occurred,  as  to  the 
question  whether  the  money  which  I  paid  found  its  way  to  the 
poor  peasants.  Abdullah  said,  the  cutwal  of  the  place  had  com- 
plained to  him  of  its  having  been  intercepted  by  the  sepoys,  but 
the  cutwal  has,  in  my  presence,  and  in  answer  to  my  questions, 
declared  that  all  had  been  received.  On  the  other  hand,  Abdul- 
lah had  been  accused,  by  some  of  the  sepoys,  of  frequent  extor- 
tion during  our  journey.  So  difficult  is  it  to  find  out  the  real  state 
of  the  case  among  people  in  whose  eyes  a  lie  is  not  disgraceful, 
and,  if  an  offence,  a  very  venial  one !  A  good  many  of  the  trades- 
men and  merchants  of  this  neighbourhood  are  natives  of  Bicca- 
nere,  a  celebrated  city  in  the  desert,  and  generally  return  when 
they  have  made  a  little  money  to  end  their  days  in  that  place, — a 
remarkable  instance  of  the  love  of  country,  inasmuch  as  it  stands 
in  one  of  the  most  inhospitable  regions  of  the  earth,  with  an  ocean 
of  sand  on  every  side,  and  all  the  drinkable  water  in  the  place  is 
monopolized  and  sold  out  by  the  government.  Aboo,  respect- 
ing which  I  asked  several  questions,  lies,  as  I  was  told,  forty 
coss  directly  west  of  Oodeypoor,  in  a  very  wild  and  thinly  in- 
habited country.  On  every  account,  I  apprehend,  I  have  done 
well  in  not  going  there  in  this  season  of  drought  and  scarcity. 

February  18. — From  Dabla  to  Bunaira  is  about  16  miles;  the 
country  rather  improves,  at  least  it  is  not  so  naked,  though  the 
timber  is  little  better  than  thorny  bushes.  Bunaira  is  a  large 
walled  town,  prettily  situated  in  the  midst  of  gardens  and  fields, 
at  the  foot  of  a  range  of  craggy  and  slirubby  hills,  on  one  of  which 
is  a  very  fine  castle,  larger  than  that  of  Carnarvon,  and  in  good 
repair.  The  Raja,  who  resides  in  it,  came  out  to  meet  me  at  the 


36  BUNAIRA. 

head  of  a  considerable  cavalcade;  he  was  splendidly  dressed, 
with  a  very  glittering  turban,  a  shield  slung  on  his  back,  and  a 
remarkably  elegant  sword  and  dagger  in  his  sash.  His  horse  was 
led  by  two  grooms  tolerably  well-clothed;  the  attire  of  his  silver- 
stiek  and  standard  bearers,  and  other  servants,  was  not  in  very 
good  repair,  and  his  own  cane  was  carried  by  a  naked  boy  of 
about  fourteen.  He  was  an  elderly  man,  and  had  lost  many  of 
his  teeth,  which  made  it  very  difficult  for  me  to  understand  him. 
This  does  not  seem  an  usual  infirmity  in  India,  but  the  Raja's 
red  eyes  and  eager  emaciated  countenance  sufficiently  proved 
him  to  be  an  opium-eater.  On  our  first  meeting  we  endeavoured 
to  embrace,  but  our  horses  threw  themselves  into  such  offensive 
attitudes,  and  showed  such  unequivocal  signs  of  hostile  inten- 
tions, that  we  could  o-nlj  touch  each  other's  hands.  I  know  not 
how  Cabul's  courage  rates,  buthe  looked  as  if  he  would  have  torn 
both  the  Raja  and  his  horse  into  shreds.  When  our  steeds  were 
a  little  pacified,  we  rode  abreast  a  short  distance,  and  began  a 
conversation.  It  is,  fortunately,  the  custom  in  this  part  of  the 
world  for  persons  of  very  high  rank  to  converse  only  through  the 
medium  of  a  confidential  servant,  and  I  gladly  made  use  of  this 
etiquette,  using  the  dak  jemautdar,  whose  Hindoostanee  I  un- 
derstood pretty  well,  as  the  channel  of  communication  with  the 
muttering  old  Rajpoot.  The  effect,  however,  of  this  procedure 
was  abundantly  ludicrous.  *'  Tell  the  Raja  Sahib  that  I  am  hap- 
py to  meet  him,  and  hope  he  is  in  good  health;"  thus  rendered: 
"  The  Lord  Sahib  decrees  that  he  is  happy  to  see  your  worship, 
and  hopes  you  are  in  good  health. "  "  Tell  the  Lord  Sahib  that 
I  am  in  very  good  health,  thanks  to  his  arrival  and  provision, 
and  that  I  hope  he  is  well :"  rendered,  ''  The  Raja  Sahib  makes 
representation  that  he  is  very  well,  thanks  to  Huzzoor's  ar- 
rival," &c.  In  this  way  we  talked  on  various  subjects  in  our 
way  to  the  bungalow,  which  stands  in  a  grove  of  scattered 
trees  and  shrubs,  at  a  little  distance  from  the  city  gate.  We 
passed  the  dam  of  what  had  been  a  noble  pool,  of  probably  150 
acres,  but  now  quite  dry,  as  was,  the  Raja  said,  another  of 
equal  size  on  the  other  side  of  the  town. 

We  passed  also  the  first  field  of  white  poppies  which  I  had 
seen,  a  sign  of  our  approach  to  the  opium  district.  The  bunga- 
low commands  a  very  striking  view  of  the  Raja's  fortress;  on 
arriving  there  we  alighted  and  embraced  in  a  most  affectionate 
sort,  after  which  I  conducted  him  in  and  seated  him  at  my 
right  hand.  A  little  more  common-place  conversation  followed, 
and  he  took  his  leave.  Soon  after  he  sent  a  considerable  pre- 
sent of  sweetmeats,  which  I  ordered  to  be  divided  among  the 
servants  and  soldiers.  The  bungalow  looked  very  desolate,  and 
I  took  the  precaution  of  having  my  mosquito-net  put  up  as  a 
security  from  the  scorpions,  which,  in  such  buildings,  some- 


BHEELWARA.  37 

times  drop  from  the  thatch,  and  slept  at  night  very  com- 
fortably. 

In  the  evening  we  walked  to  a  neighbouring  hill,  where  we 
had  another  view  of  the  castle  and  town;  the  former,  we  were 
told,  had  stood  a  siege  from  Zalim  Singh  of  Kotah,  who  erected 
his  batteries  on  the  hill  where  we  now  were,  but  from  whence 
his  balls  could  not  have  reached  the  ramparts,  and  Ameer  Khan 
had  ravaged  the  neighbourhood  without  attempting  the  castle. 
It  would  doubtless  be  a  place  of  considerable  strength  even 
against  an  European  army,  unless  they  bombarded  it,  since 
there  are  no  neighbouring  heights  which  command  it,  and  the 
rocky  nature  of  the  soil  would  make  it  very  difficult  and  labo- 
rious to  open  trenches.  But  shells  would,  probably,  soon  com- 
pel a  native  garrison  to  surrender.  A  good  deal  of  cotton 
grows  round  the  city,  and  some  wheat  and  barley,  with  several 
palm-trees,  and  the  whole  scene  was  interesting  and  roman- 
tic. Ruined  tombs  and  mosques  were  scattered  over  the  hills 
to  a  considerable  distance. 

February  19. — From  Bunairato  Bheelwara  is  ten  miles;  the 
road  for  about  four  miles  wound  very  agreeably  through  hills 
and  scattered  jungles.  Afterwards  we  entered  a  plain,  greener 
and  better  cultivated  than  we  had  seen  any  extent  of  country 
for  many  days;  the  cattle  all  showed  this  change,  and  notwith- 
standing the  drought  had  extended  hither  also,  were  in  a  plight 
which  even  in  England  would  not  have  been  called  actual  star- 
vation. At  about  seven  miles  we  passed  Sanganeer,  a  large 
town  and  celebrated  fortress,  with  a  good  rampart,  bastions 
of  better  construction  than  most  I  have  seen,  a  glacis  and  ditch 
which  showed  signs  of  having  been  a  wet  one.  The  walls  of 
the  town  were,  however,  much  dilapidated,  and  we  were  told 
it  had  been  sacked  by  Ameer  Khan.  Here  I  was  met  by  the 
Khamdar  or  judge  of  Bhularia,  with  a  message  of  welcome 
from  the  Ranah  of  Oodeypoor :  he  was  a  very  clean  and  respect- 
able old  man,  with  a  numerous  attendance  of  ragged  match- 
lock men. 

Bheelwara  is  a  large  town  without  any  splendid  buildings, 
but  with  a  number  of  neat  houses,  four  long  bazars,  and  a 
greater  appearance  of  trade,  industry,  and  moderate  but  widely 
diffused  wealth  and  comfort  than  I  had  seen  since  I  left  Delhi. 
Tlie  streets  were  full  of  hackeries  laden  with  corn  and  flour, 
the  shops  stored  with  all  kinds  of  woollen,  felt,  cotton,  and 
hardware  goods,  and  the  neatness  of  their  workmanship  in  iron 
far  surpassed  what  I  should  have  expected  to  see.  Here  too, 
every  body  was  full  of  Captain  Todd-s  praise.  The  place  had 
been  entirely  ruined  by  Jumsheed  Khan  and  deserted  by  all 
its  inhabitants,  when  Captain  Todd  persuaded  the  Ranah  to 
adopt  measures  for  encouraging  the  owners  of  land  to  return, 


38  BOOLEES. 

and  foreign  merchants  to  settle;  he  himself  drew  up  a  code  of 
regulations  for  them,  obtained  them  an  immunity  from  taxes 
for  a  certain  number  of  years,  and  sent  them  patterns  of  differ- 
ent articles  of  English  manufacture  for  their  imitation.  He  also 
gave  money  liberally  to  the  beautifying  their  town.  In  short,  as 
one  of  the  merchants  who  called  on  me  said,  "  it  ought  to  be 
called  Todd-gunge,  but  there  is  no  need,  for  we  shall  never 
forget  him."  Such  praise  as  this  from  people  who  had  no  fur- 
ther hopes  of  seeing  or  receiving  any  benefit  from  him,  is  in- 
deed of  sterling  value. 

Though  the  country  improves,  the  people,  I  think,  are  a 
smaller  race  than  those  to  the  north,  and  certainly  fall  very 
far  short  of  the  Hindoostanee  sepoys. 

February  20,  Sunday.— We  were  again  obliged  to  go  a  short 
stage  this  day,  in  order  that  I  might  have,  which  is  absolutely 
necessary,  two  entire  days  at  Neemuch.  I  tried  different  ways 
of  arranging  the  journey  so  as  to  secure  our  Sunday's  rest,  but 
it  would  not  do.  We  began  our  march  with  a  very  melancholy 
omen.  One  of  the  Raja's  soldiers,  or  chokeydars,  for  the  name 
of  soldier  they  hardly  merited,  who  had  been  sent  from  the 
town  to  take  charge  of  the  remainder  of  the  grass  which  my 
suwarrs  had  left,  sate  down  on  the  parapet  of  a  deep  and  broad 
well  or  ''boolee,"  with  a  wide  flight  of  steps  down  to  the 
water's  edge.  Here  he  either  fell  asleep  or  was  seized  with  a 
fitj  at  all  events,  he  rolled  over,  fell  at  least  forty  feet  on  the 
stone  staircase,  and  was  dashed  to  pieces.  He  had  no  wife, 
but  left  two  children,  one  a  boy  in  service,  the  other  a  little 
girl  of  eight  years  old.  Her  uncle  brought  this  child  to  me  in 
consequence  of  my  inquiries  and  the  interest  which  I  took  in 
the  business;  the  poor  little  thing  seemed  hardly  to  understand 
what  had  happened,  except  that  something  dismal  had  befallen 
her  father;  and  her  blubbered  cheeks,  her  great  black  eyes, 
which  were  fixed  on  me  between  fear  and  astonishment,  and 
her  friendless  state  affected  me  much.  I  gave  her  money 
enough  to  burn  the  dead  body  and  leave  her  something  over 
for  her  own  immediate  maintenance,  and  recommended  her  to 
the  care  of  her  uncle,  who  confessed  himself  to  be  her  natural 
guardian. 

These  boolees  are  singular  contrivances,  and  some  of  them 
extremely  handsome  and  striking;  they  are  very  deep  square 
pits,  about  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  across,  lined  with  hewn  stone, 
and  sometimes  sixty  or  seventy  feet  deep.  At  the  top  is  a  pul- 
ley, as  in  a  common  well,  by  which  water  is  drawn  from  the 
bottom  by  oxen,  but  on  one  side  is  a  long  and  broad  flight  of 
stone  steps  to  the  water's  edge,  and  with  its  approach,  some- 
times ornamented  with  pillars  and  a  kind  of  portico.  The  steps 
are  used  both  by  people  who  desire  to  wash  themselves,  and  hv 


UMMEERGHUR.  39 

those  who  have  not  rope  enough  to  reach  the  water  from  the 
surface,  and  the  effect  in  going  down  is  often  very  striking. 
Thej  are  generally  full  of  pigeons,  which  build  their  nests  in 
crannies  of  the  walls. 

Our  road  was  through  a  country  chiefly  covered  with  open 
jungle  to  Uinmeerghur,  distant  nine  miles.  A  little  short  of 
this  place  we  passed  the  river  Bunass,  now  a  dry  channel  with 
the  exception  of  a  narrow  stream  of  beautiful  and  rapid  water 
in  its  centre.  It  flows  eastward,  and  falls  into  the  Jumna.  In 
the  rainy  season  it  is  a  very  great  river,  and  the  suwarrs  told 
us  they  had  never  seen  it  so  dry  before.  There  is  another 
river  of  the  same  name  beyond  the  hills  of  Aboo  and  Palhan- 
poor,  which  falls  into  the  Runn  to  the  west  of  Guzerat,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  has  led  Arrowsmith  into  some  great  errors, 
in  supposing  these  streams  to  rise  out  of  the  same  lake  and 
flow  different  ways. 

Ummeerghur  is  a  good  sized  town,  in  the  centre  of  which 
are  three  very  pretty  temples  ranged  in  a  line,  and  built  on  an 
uniform  plan,  with  a  tomb  on  their  right  hand,  where  repose 
the  ashes  of  a  rich  merchant,  their  founder.  A  considerable 
manufactory  of  chintz  seemed  going  on,  and  the  place  bore 
the  marks  of  apparent  prosperity.  Above  it,  on  a  high  rock, 
stands  a  castle,  which  was  conquered  last  year  for  the  Ranah 
from  a  rebellious  Thakoor.  The  Ranah,  with  3000  men  had 
besieged  it  three  months  before  he  asked  for  the  help  of  Bri- 
tish troops.  Finding,  however,  that  he  made  no  progress,  he 
applied  to  the  Brigadier  at  Neemuch,  and  two  battalions  and 
a  few  mortars  settled  the  affair  in  little  more  than  one  day. 
This  was  told  me  by  the  Khamdar  of  the  town,  and  confirm- 
ed with  a  sort  of  exultation  by  the  jemautdar  of  a  troop  of  irre- 
gular cavalry,  who,  as  his  corps  is  under  a  British  officer,  and 
he  himself  had  served  in  our  army  against  Asseerghur,  seemed 
to  pique  himself  on  being  a  British,  not  an  Oodeypoor  soldier. 
The  Khamdar,  together  with  the  "  Potail,"  or  Zemindar  of 
the  neighbouring  district,  (who  is  here  an  officer  strictly  here- 
ditary, and  answering  to  the  Lord  of  a  Manor  in  England,) 
called  on  me,  attended  by  a  number  of  men  with  rusty  match- 
locks, swords  and  shields.  The  Khamdar  spoke  very  intelligi- 
ble Hindoostanee,  and  I  thought  him  a  sensible  man.  The 
potail  had  the  appearance  of  a  venerable  old  farmer.  The 
whole  party,  attendants  and  all,  entered  the  bungalow  in  the 
unceremonious  manner  which  Sir  John)Malcolm  ascribes  to  the 
natives  generally  of  Central  India,  and  seated  themselves  on 
the  ground  in  a  half  circle  round  me,  resting  their  hands  on 
their  shields.  My  servants  were  a  good  deal  scandalized  at 
this  rustic  plainness,  but  there  was  evidently  no  offence  in- 
tended.    On  the  contrary,  nothing  could  exceed  the  attention 

Vol.  II.— 4. 


40  BHEELS. 

which  they  paid  us  during  the  day.  Fuel  and  grass  were  fur- 
nished on  the  most  liberal  scale,  and  they  sent  a  stock  of  very 
fine  fish,  enough  to  dine  our  whole  camp,  while  all  payment 
was  steadily  refused,  except  that  I  was,  with  some  difficulty, 
allowed  to  give  three  rupees  to  the  fishermen  who  had  worked 
for  us  the  greatest  part  of  the  morning.  Of  the  fish,  indeed, 
they  were  glad  to  dispose  as  soon  as  possible  in  any  way  which 
might  offer.  They  were  the  inhabitants  of  a  large  pool  close 
to  the  castle  hill,  which  appeared,  in  the  rains  to  cover  about 
eighty  acres,  being  then  supplied  from  the  Bunass  river.  It 
usually  retained  its  water  all  the  year,  but  this  cruel  season 
had  already  brought  it  very  low,  and  in  a  month  more  they 
calculated  that  it  v/ould  be  quite  dry.  Accordingly  all  hands 
were  now  at  work  to  catch  the  fish  while  they  were  yet  alive, 
and  people  from  the  whole  country  round  about  had  assem- 
bled either  for  this  purpose,  or  to  purchase  them,  a  very  large 
"  rooee"  being  to  be  had  for  a  single  pice.  Captain  Gerard, 
an  engineer  officer  who  met  me  here,  went  to  see  the  chace, 
and  said  it  was  very  curious.  The  fish  were  pursued  in  the 
shallow  muddy  water  with  sticks,  spears,  and  hands  in  all 
directions,  but  there  was  little  execution  done  till  four  Bheels, 
in  the  service  of  the  Oodeypoor  government  made  their  ap- 
pearance. The  rabble  were  then  driven  away,  and  these  sava- 
ges with  their  bows  and  arrows,  made  in  a  few  hours  that 
havoc  among  the  fish  which  produced  such  plenty  in  the 
camp,  singling  out  the  largest,  and  striking  them  with  as 
much  certainty  as  if  they  had  been  sheep  in  a  fold.  The  ma- 
gistrates offered  to  renew  the  sport  for  my  diversion  in  the 
evening,  but  being  Sunday,  I  did  not  choose  it.  I  saw  the 
fishermen,  however,  who  were  the  first  of  their  nation  I  had 
met  with;  middle-sized  slender  men,  very  dark,  with  frames 
which  promised  hardness  and  agility  more  than  much  muscu- 
lar strength.  They  were  bare-headed  and  quite  naked  except 
a  small  belt  of  coarse  cloth  round  the  loins,  in  which  they  car- 
ried their  knives.  Their  bows  were  of  split  bamboos,  very  sim- 
ply made,  but  strong  and  elastic,  more  so  I  think,  than  those 
ofa  buffalo  horn  which  are  generally  used  in  Hindostan.  They 
w  ere  about  four  feet  six  inches  long,  and  formed  like  those  of 
Europe.  The  arrows  were  also  of  bamboo,  with  an  iron  head 
coarsely  made,  and  a  long  single  barb.  Those  intended  for 
striking  fish  had  this  head  so  contrived  as  to  slip  off  from  the 
shaft  when  the  fish  was  struck,  but  to  remain  connected  with 
it  by  a  long  line  on  the  principle  of  the  harpoon.  The  shaft  in 
consequence  remained  as  a  float  on  the  water,  and  not  only 
contributed  to  weary  out  the  animal,  but  showed  his  pursuer 
which  way  he  fled  and  thus  enabled  him  to  seize  it. 

We  have  not  yet  passed  any  Bheel  villages,  but  I  am  told 


CAPTAIN  GERARD.  41 

that  we  are  getting  into  their  neighbourhood:  Bheelwara, 
indeed,  thougTi  now  inhabited  by  Hindoo  and  Mussulman 
traders,  should  seem,  in  its  name,  to  retain  the  mark  of  its 
original  population. — During  the  period  which  is  emphatical- 
ly called  by  all  the  people  of  this  country  "  the  years  of  trou- 
ble,'' these  savages  were  one  among  the  many  scourges  which 
laid  waste  the  helds,  and  made  travelling  a  desperate  adven- 
ture. The  revival  of  the  Rajpoot  governments,  and  the  better 
system  of  police  which  English  influence  has  introduced 
among  them,  together  with  the  aid  which  they  receive  on  all 
serious  occasions  from  the  garrisons  of  Mhow  and  Neemuch, 
have  put  a  stop  in  a  great  degree  to  these  depredations;  and 
the  judicious  measures  of  firmness  and  conciliation  pursued 
towards  tlie  Bheel  chiefs,  who  have  had  lands  granted  them 
tax-free,  in  order  to  bring  them  into  regular  habits,  and  have 
been  many  of  them  enrolled,  like  the  Puharrees  andMhars,  in 
local  corps  for  the  defence  of  the  roads,  have  gone  far  to  make 
the  savages  themselves  sensible  of  their  true  interests,  and  the 
kind  intentions  of  the  English  towards  them.  Still,  however, 
there  are  occasional  excesses,  though  they  are  chiefly  indulged 
in  against  the  Hindoos.  A  few  months  since,  one  of  the  bazars 
at  Neemuch  was  attacked  and  plundered  by  a  body  of  the  hill 
people,  who  succeeded  in  getting  off  with  their  booty,  before 
the  troops  in  the  neighbouring  cantonment  could  overtake 
them.  And  there  are,  doubtless,  even  in  the  plains,  many 
who  still  sigh  after  their  late  anarchy,  and  exclaim,  amid  the 
comforts  of  a  peaceable  government, 

*•  Give  us  our  wildness  and  our  woods. 
Our  huts  and  caves  again  !" 

The  son  of  Mr.  Palmer,  Chaplain  of  Nusseerabad,  a  clever 
boy,  who  speaks  the  native  languages  very  fluently,  while  tra- 
velling lately  with  his  father  and  mother  in  their  way  from 
Mhow,  observed  some  Bheels  looking  earnestly  at  a  large 
drove  of  laden  bullocks  which  were  drinking  in  a  ford  of  the 
Bunass.  He  asked  one  of  the  men  if  the  bullocks  belonged  to 
him.^  "No,"  was  the  reply,  '*  but  a  good  part  of  them  would 
have  been  ours  if  it  were  not  for  your  Sahib  Log,  who  will  let 
nobody  thrive  but  yourselves!" 

Captain  Gerard  I  found  under  a  very  modest  exterior,  a 
man  of  great  science  and  information;  he  was  one  of  the  per- 
sons most  concerned  in  the  measurement  and  exploring  of  the 
Himalaya  mountains,  had  been  in  Ladak,  and  repeatedly  be- 
yond the  Chinese  frontier,  though  repelled  each  time,  after 
penetrating  a  few  miles,  by  the  Tartar  cavalry.  He  had  him- 
self ascended  to  the  height  of  19,600  feet,  or  400  higher  than 
Humboldt  had  ever  climbed  amid  the'  Andes,  and  the  latter 


42  GUNGROWR. 

part  of  his  ascent,  for  about  two  miles,  was  on  an  inclined 
plane  of  42,  a  nearer  approach  to  the  perpendicular,  than 
Humboldt  conceived  it  possible  to  climb  for  any  distance  to- 
gether. Nothing,  he  said,  could  exceed  the  care  with  which 
Major  Hodgson,  Mr.  Frazer  and  himself,  had  ascertained  the 
altitude  of  the  hills.  Each  of  the  accessible  peaks  had  been 
measured  by  repeated  and  scrupulous  experiments  with  the 
barometer,  corrected  by  careful  trigonometrical  measurement, 
checked  by  astronomical  observations.  The  inaccessible 
heights  had  been  found  by  trigonometry,  on  bases  of  considera- 
ble extent,  and  with  the  help  of  the  best  and  highest  priced 
instruments.  The  altitud^es,  therefore,  of  the  hills,  and  the 
general  geography  of  the  provinces  on  the  British  side  of  the 
frontier,  he  regarded  as  about  as  well  settled  as  human  means 
could  do  it,  and  far  better  than  the  same  objects  have  been  ob- 
tained in  most  countries  of  Europe.  The  line  at  which  vege- 
tation ends,  he  stated  to  be  about  13,000  feet.  The  moun- 
tains of  Kemaoon,  he  said,  are  considerably  more  accessible 
and  less  rockv  than  those  which  lie  north  of  Sabathoo,  where 
the  scenery  is  more  sublimely  terrible  than  can  be  described. 
Yet  Nundi  Devi,  and  the  other  highest  peaks  lie  nearer  to 
Almorah  than  to  Sabathoo,  and  the  scenery  of  both  these  situa- 
tions falls  short  of  the  upper  parts  of  the  valley  of  the  Alaca- 
nandra  which  flows  between  them.  The  more  I  hear  of  these 
glorious  hills,  the  more  do  I  long  to  see  them  again,  and  ex- 
plore them  further.  But  my  journeys  never  can  or  ought  to 
be  mere  tours  of  pleasure,  and  the  erection  of  a  new  Church, 
the  location  of  a  new  Chaplain,  and  twenty  other  similarmat- 
ters,  may  compel  me  to  a  course  extremely  contrary  to  what 
I  could  desire  if  I  were  master  of  my  own  time. 

Captain  Gerard  had  been  emploj^ed  some  time  in  surveying 
and  mapping  this  part  of  India,  and  was  now  for  his  health  re- 
turning to  the  hills,  having  had  a  severe  fever  at  Neemuch. 
He  spoke  of  Jyepoor  as  the  least  hospitable  and  most  unruly 
of  all  the  Rajpoot  and  Maharatta  principalities,  and  seemed 
rather  to  wonder  that  I  had  got  through  it  so  well,  and  met 
with  so  much  general  civility. 

In  the  evening  we  walked  to  see  the  fort  on  the  hill,  which, 
though  it  looks  extensive  and  showy  from  without,  is  within 
neither  large  nor  interesting.  The  only  object  of  curiosity,  is 
a  very  deep  well,  the  water  of  which  is  drawn  up  by  a  wheel 
turned  by  bullocks,  but  which,  preposterously  enough,  is  pla- 
ced just  without  the  main  wall  of  the  castle. 

February  21.— From  Ummeerghur  to  Gungrowr,  is  a  dis- 
tance often  miles,  the  latter  half  through  a  jungle  of  bushes 
and  stunted  trees,  but  with  a  very  tolerable  road,  though  not 
easy  to  find,  on  account  of  the  number  of  tracks  winding  in 


GUNGROWR.  43 

every  direction  through  the  coppice.  Gungrowr  is  a  small 
town  with  a  castle,  perched  on  a  rock  at  the  foot  of  a  range  of 
woody  hills.  It  had  been  described  to  me  as  only  remarkable 
for  the  predatory  habits  of  its  people.  Of  these  I  had  no  op- 
portunity of  judging;  to  us  they  were  very  civil,  and  the  bill 
for  expenses  brought  in  by  the  chief  of  the  place  was  very 
moderate.  But  the  situation  I  thought  the  most  beautiful  1 
had  seen  since  leaving  the  mountains.  Our  tents  were  pitched 
in  a  plain  traversed  by  a  small  brook,  which  even  now,  was 
not  dry,  and  bordered  by  a  wood  of  some  of  the  largest  man- 
goe,  saul,  peepul,  and  banyan  trees  which  I  ever  saw,  except 
at  Ruderpoor,  above  which  rose  the  hills  with  their  rock, 
brush-wood,  and  ruinous  towers;  and  in  spite  of  this  burning 
season,  the  ground  was  so  good  and  the  brook  so  abundant,  that 
there  was  a  very  tolerable  turf,  a  thing  which  I  had  not  seen,  I 
might  almost  say,  since  I  left  Bengal!  I  had  a  delightful  walk 
in  the  wood  as  soon  as  the  day  grew  cool.  In  spite  of  the  ill- 
reputation  of  the  neighbourhood  I  left  my  train  behind,  and 
could  often  almost  fancy  myself  at  dear  Hodnet.  I  believe  this 
place  did  me  real  good,  at  least  I  felt  better  hope  and  heart  after 
a  half-hour's  stroll,  when  I  was  joined  by  Dr.  Smitli,  who 
agreed  with  me  that,  but  for  a  few  scattered  palm-trees,  the 
scene  would  have  been  entirely  English,  It  would,  he  said, 
have  been  Scottish,  but  for  the  great  size  of  the  timber,  which 
indeed  I  have  seldom,  if  ever,  seen  equalled  in  our  own 
country. 

I  asked  the  duffildar  of  the  irregular  horse  if  there  were  many 
groves  as  fine  as  these  on  our  way  to  Neemuch,  and  was  glad  to 
hear  that  the  country  would  become  more  and  more  woody  and 
verdant  as  we  advanced.  The  jemautdar  from  Ummeerghur 
made  his  appearance  again  to-day.  He  had,  indeed,  promised  to 
go  with  me  as  far  as  Chittore,  but  now  apologized  on  the  plea 
that  news  had  arrived  of  a  band  of  robbers  having  made  their 
appearance  near  Bheelwara,  the  inhabitants  of  which  place  had 
sent  to  ask  his  assistance.  He  did  not  know  the  strength  of  the 
banditti,  but  said  that  with  the  ten  men  whom  he  had  with  him, 
he  should  not  be  afraid  of  charging  fifty  Bheels.  I  asked  him 
if  it  were  true  that  the  people  of  Gungrowr  bore  so  ill  a  cha- 
racter. "  The  same,"  he  said,  '*  as  all  the  people  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood; all  had  been  thieves,  and  all  would  be  so  again  if 
they  dared.  Bheels  or  Rajpoots,  there  was  little  difterence." 
He  was  himself  a  Mussulman,  a  short,  but  very  strong-built 
man,  with  a  cheerful  countenance,  and  a  good  deal  of  energy 
of  manner.  He  said  there  were  100  horse  stationed  in  differ- 
ent parts  of  this  district  under  a  tusseeldar  and  himself,  to 
keep  the  peace.     They  had  at  first  some  troublesome  work, 

but  now  things  were  reasonably  quiet.' 

4* 


44  DR.     GIBB RANAH    OF    OODEYPOOR. 

I  had  another  countryman  with  me  to-day,  Dr.  Gibb,  late 
inspecting  surgeon  of  this  district,  and  just  appointed  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Military  Board,  to  take  his  seat  in  which  he  was  now 
marching  towards  Calcutta.  He  is  a  cheerful,  well-informed 
old  gentleman,  and  gave  me  a  good  deal  of  additional  know- 
ledge respecting  Central  and  Western  India.  The  Mussulman 
jaghiredars,  Ghuttbor  Khan,  Ameer  Klian,  and  a  few  others, 
make  better  sovereigns  than  the  Hindoo  princes.  Though  re- 
morseless robbers,  so  far  as  they  dare,  to  all  their  neighbours, 
they  manage  their  ryuts  better,  are  themselves  better  educated, 
and  men  of  better  sense  than  the  generality  of  Rajas  or  Ra- 
nahs,  and  are  sufficiently  aware  of  their  own  interest  to  know 
that  if  they  ruin  the  peasantry  they  will  themselves  be  losers. 
Ameer  Khan,  like  the  saintly  Woggarwolf  in  Miss  Baillie's 
*'Ethwald,"  now  that  he  can  no  longer  carry  fire  and  sword 
from  Bhopal  to  Joudpoor,  is  grown  devout  in  his  old  age, 
dresses  in  sackcloth  and  ragged  apparel,  tells  his  beads,  and 
reads  his  Koran  continually,  and  is  surrounded  by  Faquirs. 
He  is  extremely  rich,  but  his  army,  except  a  few  household 
troops,  he  was  obliged  by  Lord  Hastings  to  dismiss.  To  pre- 
vent the  evil  of  turning  such  a  horde  of  desperate  men  loose 
on  the  country,  all  who  chose  it  were  taken  into  the  Compa- 
ny's service.  But  Ameer  Khan  would  still  have  found,  had 
his  services  against  Jyepoor  been  accepted  by  government,  no 
scarcity  of  ruffians  and  vagabonds  to  join  the  banner  of  so  re- 
nowned a  leader,  and  would  in  a  few  weeks  have  been  again 
the  old  Patan  General,  the  neighing  of  whose  horses  was  heard 
from  Gurmukteser  Ghat  to  the  hill  of  Aboo. 

The  Ranah  of  Oodeypoor  has  a  large  extent  of  territory,  and, 
in  ordinary  years,  a  singularly  fertile  one,  were  these  people 
to  cultivate  it.  But  he  was  quite  ruined  and  beggared  by  Ba- 
poo  Sindia  and  Jumsheed  Khan.  Half  his  revenues  at  least 
are  mortgaged  to  shroffs  and  money-lenders,  and  his  people 
are  pitiably  racked,  in  order  to  pay  the  exorbitant  interest  of 
his  debts.  It  has  been  the  misfortune  of  his  family  to  have 
been  the  oldest  and  purest  in  India;  to  be  descended  in  a  right 
line  from  the  Sun  without  any  debasing  mixture,  having  re- 
sisted all  attempts  of  the  Emperors  of  Delhi  to  effect  an  inter- 
marriage of  the  houses,  and  reckoning,  I  believe,  in  their  pe- 
digree, one  or  two  Avatars  of  the  Diety.  In  consequence  they 
have  been  generally  half  mad  with  pride,  perpetually  marry- 
ing among  themselves,  fond  of  show  and  magnificence  beyond 
their  means,  oi-  the  usual  custom  of  Hindoo  sovereigns,  and 
very  remarkably  deficient  in  knowledge  and  intelligence*  The 
present  Ranah  adds  to  all  these  advantages  a  great  fondness 
for  opium.  In  consequence  the  revenue  is  collected  in  the 
most  oppressive,   ind  dissipated  in  the  most  absurd  manner, 


CHITTORE.  45 

and  except  in  the  large  towns  which  have  obtained,  more  or 
less,  the  protection  of  the  British  Resident,  the  country,  Dr. 
Gibb  said,  has  profited  infinitely  less  than  either  Malwah  or 
the  rest  of  the  Meywar,  by  the  peace  which  it  has  enjoyed 
since  the  destruction  of  the  Pindarrees.  Yet,  in  comparison 
with  Jyepoor,  the  country  is  plentiful  and  thriving.  Corn  is 
cheap,  and  the  number  of  beggars  less  than  I  have  seen  on  this 
side  of  Delhi.  And  when  the  very  unfavourable  season  is 
taken  into  consideration,  I  really  think  that  present  appear- 
ances may  be  well  accounted  for,  without  supposing  any  great 
oppression  on  the  part  of  their  government. 

The  late  Thakoor  Bulwer  Singh,  who  was  shot,  with  his  two 
eldest  sons,  about  two  months  ago  in  an  affair  with  our  troops 
at  Bondee,  was  considered  as  the  ablest  man  in  this  part  of 
India.  He  was  as  restless,  however,  as  he  was  active  and  dar- 
ing, the  untameable  enemy  of  the  British  power,  and  the  per- 
son who  chiefiy  encouraged  the  Rannee  of  Jyepoor  to  brave 
that  power.  His  mine,  fortunately,  exploded  too  soon.  Con- 
scious of  his  own  intrigues,  he  refused  to  give  any  explanation 
of  his  conduct  to  the  Resident  of  Kotah,  fortified  himself  in 
his  house,  and  fired  on  four  companies  of  sepoys  who,  by  a  for- 
tunate chance  for  the  government,  happened  then  to  march 
through  the  country.  Finding  himself  unprepared  to  stand  a 
siege,  he  sallied  out  with  about  twenty  men,  among  whom 
were  his  sons,  and  all  three  fell  in  the  attempt  to  cut  through 
the  soldiers.  His  youngest  son,  a  boy,  has  been  allowed  to 
inherit  his  jaghire. 

The  weather  is  growing  warm,  though  as  yet,  by  no  means 
oppressive.  I  must  expect  some  heat,  however,  before  I  reach 
Baroda. 

February  22. — From  Gungrowr  to  Chittore  is  between  twelve 
and  thirteen  miles,  a  wild  but  interesting  road  winding 
through  woods  at  the  foot  of  some  fine  rocky  hills.  The  situa- 
tion of  Chittore  is  conspicuous  from  a  considerable  distance  by 
the  high  rock  on  which  the  fortress  stands,  and  which,  from 
its  scarped  sides,  and  the  buildings  scatteretl  along  its  crest, 
sufficiently  denote  its  nature,  even  before  the  precise  forms  of 
the  buildings  themselves  are  distinguishable.  There  is  a  bun- 
galow for  travellers  near  the  Bunass,  but  in  a  situation  with- 
out shade,  and  too  far  from  the  city  to  answer  my  purpose. 
The  tents  were  therefore  sent  on  half  a  mile  farther,  to  a  small 
stony  plain  close  to  the  town  gates,  and  we  followed  them 
through  a  ford  of  the  river,  which  in  this  place  still  runs  with 
a  considerable  stream  of  very  bright  and  beautiful  water.  On 
our  left  hand  were  the  ruins  of  a  long,  lofty,  and  handsome 
bridge  of  eight  gothic  arches,  and  one  semicircular  one  in  the 
centre,  with  a  ruined  tower  and  gateway  at  each  end.  The  ford 


46  CASTLE  AT  CHITTORE. 

was  deep,  with  a  sharp  gravelly  bottom,  the  road  leading  to  it 
both  ways  extremely  broken  and  stony.  Our  encamping 
ground  was  near  the  bazar,  and  close  to  a  fine  bowlee,  but  had 
no  other  advantages,  being  rocky  and  strewed  with  rubbish 
and  fragments  of  buildings,  with  only  a  single  tree.  It  was 
made,  too,  more  uncomfortable  by  the  neighbourhood  of  a  poor 
mad  woman,  who  had  taken  up  her  abode  under  a  little  shed 
just  long  enough  and  high  enough  to  shelter  her  as  she  lay  on 
her  back,  covered  with  a  ragged  cloth,  and  raving  and  lament- 
ing, as  we  were  told,  and  as  I  had  good  reason  to  believe, 
night  and  day.  I  gave  her  a  little  relief,  as  many  others  in 
the  camp  did,  but  she  went  on  in  the  same  tone,  and  with  the 
same  fluency.  Dr.  Smith  offered  to  supply  her  with  opium  if 
she  ever  took  it,  but  she  answered  ''  No,"  and  went  on  as  be- 
fore, or  rather  worse.  At  last  a  sepoy  said  he  would  break 
her  head  if  she  did  not  hold  her  tongue,  which  quieted  her  for 
a  few  minutes  when  she  broke  out  again.  He  did  not,  how- 
ever, put  his  threat  into  execution,  nor  do  I  believe  he  ever 
intended  to  do  so:  on  the  contrary,  all  the  people  called  her  a 
"Moonee,"  or  inspired  person,  and  treated  her,  if  not  with 
respect,  at  least  with  forbearance. 

The  Khamdar  of  the  town,  a  very  well-mannered  man,  in  a 
splendid  dress,  called  on  me,  and  offered  to  conduct  me  to  see 
the  castle,  which  was  a  great  favour,  as  it  is  a  thing  of  which 
they  are  very  jealous,  and  which  probably  not  ten  Europeans 
had  seen  out  of  all  the  number  who  have  visited  and  lived  in 
India.  I  proposed  accompanying  him  at  four  in  the  evening, 
but  he  begged  it  might  not  be  later  than  three,  and  that  we 
would  come  on  horseback,  since  it  v/as,  he  said,  nearly  two 
coss  to  the  top  of  the  hill.  We  accordingly  joined  the  Tha- 
koor  in  the  market-place  of  the  little  old  city,  where  he  was 
already  mounted  and  ready  to  accompany  us.  Chittore  was 
once  the  capital  of  this  principality,  and  is  still  what  would  be 
called  in  England  a  tolerably  large  market-town,  with  a  good 
many  pagodas,  and  a  meanly  built,  but  apparently,  busy  bazar. 
The  population  seem  chiefly  weavers  and  dealers  in  grain. 
The  fortress  rises  immediately  above  the  town,  and  extends  for 
a  considerable  distance  to  the  right  and  left  of  it.  The  rock, 
where  not  naturally  precipitous,  has  been  scarped  by  art  all 
round  the  summit  to  the  height  of  from  80  to  120  feet,  and  is 
surmounted  by  a  rude  wall  with  semicircular  bastions,  enclos- 
ing, as  our  guide  the  Thakoor  assured  us,  a  circuit  of  six  coss, 
or  twelve  miles.  Of  course  it  does  not  contain  an  area  pro- 
portionate to  this  circumference,  since  the  form  is  extremely 
irregular,  and  the  ridge  of  the  hill  in  many  places  narrow. 
But  the  length  I  can  easily  believe  to  be  above  two  coss,  and 
the  measurement  of  the  wall  is,  probably,  not  much  exaggera- 


GASTLE  AT  CHITTORE.  47 

ted.  The  approach  is  by  a  zig-zag  road,  of  very  easy  slope, 
but  stony  and  in  bad  repair,  passing  under  six  gateways  with 
traverses  and  rude  out-works,  before  we  arrive  at  the  main  en- 
trance of  the  castle.  The  whole  face  of  the  hill,  except  the 
precipice,  is  covered  with  trees  and  brushwood,  and  the  ap- 
proach is  therefore  very  picturesque  and  interesting.  It  is 
certainly,  however,  not  two  coss  in  gradual  ascent,  though  it 
may  perhaps  be  not  far  short  of  one.  In  advance  of  the  castle 
gate  is  an  out-work,  or  barbican,  with  a  colonnade  internally 
of  octagonal  pillars  and  carved  imposts,  supporting  a  flat  ter- 
race, and  with  a  hall  in  the  interior,  which  our  guide  pointed 
out  to  us  as  resembling  the  hall  of  audience  at  Delhi!  If  he 
had  said  the  Emperor's  stable,  he  would  have  been  nearer  the 
truth,  but  I  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  contradict  him.  The 
gateway  itself  is  very  lofty  and  striking  with  a  good  deal  of 
carving,  in  the  genuine  style  of  ancient  Hindoo  architecture, 
with  no  Mussulman  intermixture,  and  more  nearly  resembling 
the  Egyptain  than  any  thing  I  have  seen  since  my  arrival  in 
this  country.  On  entering  we  first  passed  through  a  small 
street  of  very  ancient  and  singular  temples,  then  through  a 
narrow  and  mean  bazar,  then,  and  so  long  as  day -light  lasted, 
through  a  succession  of  most  extraordinary  and  interesting 
buildings,  chiefly  ruinous,  but  some  still  in  good  repair.  The 
temples  were  the  most  numerous,  none  of  them  large,  but  se- 
veral extremely  solemn  and  beautiful.  There  were  two  or 
three  little  old  palaces,  chiefly  remarkable  for  the  profusion  of 
carving  bestowed  on  rooms  of  very  small  dimensions,  and 
arranged  with  no  more  regard  to  convenience  than  a  common 
prison.  One  of  these,  which  is  seated  on  a  rock  in  the  midst 
of  a  large  pool,  was  pointed  out  as  the  residence  of  a  very 
beautiful  Rannee,  whose  fame  induced  the  Emperor  Acbar  to 
demand  her  in  marriage,  and,  on  her  father's  refusal,  to  lay 
siege  to  Chittore,  like  another  Agramant,  in  order  to  win  the 
hand  of  this  eastern  Angelica.  After  a  long  siege  he  succeed- 
ed in  undermining  a  part  of  the  wall,  on  which  the  princess  in 
question  persuaded  all  her  countrywomen  in  the  garrison  to 
retire  with  her  and  her  children  into  this  palace,  where  they 
were,  at  their  own  desire,  suffocated  with  the  smoke  of  fuel 
heaped  up  in  the  lower  apartments,  only  two  remaining  alive. 
The  garrison  then  sallied  out  on  the  enemy,  and  all  died  fight- 
ing desperately,  neither  giving  nor  accepting  quarter.  The 
two  female  survivors  of  the  carnage  were  found  by  Acbar,  and 
given  in  marriage  to  two  of  his  officers.  I  give  this  story  as 
I  heard  it  from  the  Thakoor  Myte  Motee  Ram.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  romantic  cause  assigned  for  Acbar's  invasion  of 
Oodeypoor,  it  is  indeed  "an  ower  true  tale,"  the  horrible  cir- 
cumstances of  which  may  be  found  in  I)ow's  History  of  Hin- 


48  CASTLE  AT  CHITTORE. 

dostan.  It  is  extremely  probable  that  there  may  have  been 
some  one  high-spirited  princess  who  urged  her  companions  to 
submit  cheerfully  to  slaughter,  rather  than  to  the  wretched  lot 
of  female  captives;  but  it  is  certain  that  all  the  women  and 
children  were  slaughtered  nearly  in  the  manner  described, 
which,  in  the  blood-stained  history  of  India,  was  of  no  uncom- 
mon occurrence,  and  known  by  the  technical  name  of  '' Joar," 
being  an  act  of  devotion  to  Kali,  to  which  men  had  recourse 
in  the  last  extremity. 

The  palace  on  the  lake  has,  however,  no  appearance  of  hav- 
ing suffered  by  fire,  though  the  ruins  of  a  long  range  of  apart- 
ments to  the  north  of  the  lake  may  very  probably  have  been 
the  scene  of  this  sacrifice,  and  in  this,  perhaps,  I  may  have 
misunderstood  my  informant.  Just  above,  and  on  the  crest  of 
the  hill,  as  if  connected  with  this  event,  stands  the  largest 
temple  in  the  fort  dedicated  to  the  destroying  powers,  with  the 
trident  of  Siva  in  front,  and  within,  lighted  by  some  lamps  in 
its  furthest  dark  recess,  a  frightful  figure  of  the  blood-drink- 
ing goddess,  with  her  lion,  her  many  hands  full  of  weapons, 
and  her  chaplet  of  skulls.  A  tyger's  skin  was  stretched  before 
her,  and  the  pavement  was  stained  with  the  blood  of  sacrifices 
from  one  end  to  the  other.  On  one  side,  on  a  red  cloth,  sate 
three  brahmins,  the  principal  of  whom,  a  very  handsome  man 
of  about  35,  was  blind,  and  seemed  to  be  treated  by  the  other 
twoj^nd  by  all  the  bystanders,  with  great  deference.  On  my 
entering  the  temple,  which  is  very  beautiful,  I  gave  a  rupee 
to  the  brahmin  next  me,  who,  with  a  -very  humble  obeisance 
laid  it  at  the  foot  of  his  superior,  telling  him  at  the  same  time 
that  it  was  the  gift  of  a  "  belattee  Raja."  He  took  no  notice, 
however,  of  either  it  or  me,  merely  raising  his  calm  melan- 
choly face  and  sightless  eyes  at  the  sound  of  my  voice,  and 
again  turning  them  towards  the  shrine,  while  he  kept  telling 
the  beads  of  his  rosary.  A  large  peepul  grows  in  the  court  of 
the  temple,  and  there  are  many  others  scattered  on  different 
parts  of  the  hill.  In  this  and  all  the  other  temples,  I  was  much 
struck  with  the  admirable  masonry  and  judicious  construction  of 
the  domes  which  covered  them,  as  well  as  v/ith  the  very  solemn 
effect  produced  by  the  style  of  architecture.  A  Gothic  or  Gre- 
cian building  of  the  same  size  would  merely  have  been  beau- 
tiful, but  these,  small  as  they  are,  are  awful,  the  reason  of 
which  may  be  found  in  the  low  and  massive  proportion  of 
their  pillows,  in  the  strong  shadow  thrown  by  their  projecting 
cornices  and  unpierced  domes,  in  the  long  flights  of  steps  lead- 
ing to  them,  which  give  a  consequence  to  structures  of  very 
moderate  dimensions,  and  in  the  character  of  their  ornaments, 
which  consist  either  of  mythological  bas-reliefs,  on  a  very  mi- 
nute scale,  so  as  to  make  the  buildings  on  which  they  are  found 


TEMPLE    OP    SIVA    AT    CHITTORE.  49 

seem  larger,  or  in  an  endless  repetition  and  continuation  of  a 
few  very  simple  forms,  so  as  to  give  the  idea  of  a  sort  of  in- 
finity. The  general  construction  of  all  these  buildings  is  the 
same,  a  small  court-yard,  a  portico,  a  square  open  build- 
ing supported  by  pillars  and  surmounted  by  a  dome,  and  be- 
hind this  a  close  square  shrine,  surmounted  by  an  ornament- 
ed pyramid.  One  and  one  only,  of  the  buildings  on  the  hill 
struck  me  as  a  Mussulman  erection,  and  on  enquiring  who 
built  it,  I  was  told  it  really  was  the  work  of  Azeem  Ushan, 
son  of  Aurengzebe,  who  also  was  fortunate  enough  to  take 
Chittore,  and  who  called  this  building  ''Futteh  Muhul,'' 
(Victory  Hall.)  It  i§  singular  that  such  a  trophy  should  have 
been  allowed  to  stand  when  the  Hindoos  recovered  the  place. 
Though  uninhabited  and  falling  to  decay,  it  is  still  tolerably 
entire. 

There  are,  besides  the  pool  which  I  have  already  noticed, 
many  beautiful  pools,  cisterns,  and  wells,  in  different  parts  of 
this  extraordinary  hill,  amounting,  as  we  were  assured,  to  84, 
of  which,  however,  in  the  present  singularly  dry  season,  only 
twelve  have  water.     One  of  these  last,  cut  in  the  solid  rock, 
and  fed  by  a  beautiful  spring  with  a  little  temple  over  it,  is  a 
most  picturesque  and  romantic  spot.  It  has  high  rocks  on  three 
sides,  crowned  with  temples  and  trees;  on  the  fourth  are  some 
old  buildings,  also  of  a  religious  character,  erected  on  the 
edge  of  the  precipice  which  surrounds  the  castle,  a  long  flight 
of  rock-hewn  steps  leads  down  to  the  surface  of  the  water, 
and  the  whole  place  breathes  coolness,  seclusion  and  solem- 
nity. Below  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  and  with  their  foliage 
just  rising  above  it,  grow  two  or  three  plantains  of  a  very  large 
size,  which  were  pointed  out  to  me  as  great  curiosities.     The 
Khamdar  assured  me  that  they'  were  three  hundred  years  old, 
and  that  they  every  year  produced  excellent  fruit,  though,  as 
he  truly  said,  there  could  be  very  little  earth  on   the   ledge 
where  they  were  rooted.  They  probably  derive  moisture  from 
the  water  filtering  through  the  rampart,  which  here  forms  a 
dam  to  the  pool.   For  their  great  age  I  only  have  his  authority. 
The  most  extraordinary  buildings  in  Chittore  are  two  mina- 
rets or  tower  temples,  dedicated  to  Siva.   The  smaller  of  these 
we  only  saw  from  a  distance,  and  were  told  it  was  now  ruinous; 
the  largest,  which  resembles  it  in  form,  is  a  square  tower  nine 
stories  high,  of  white  marble  most  elaboratel}^  carved,  sur- 
mounted by  a  cupola,  and  the  two  highest  stories  projecting, 
balcony-wise,  beyond  those  beneath  them,  so  that  it  stands  on 
its  smaller  end.     There  is  a  steep  and  narrow  but  safe  stair- 
case of  marble  within,  conducting  to  seven   small,  and  two 
large  apartments,  all  richly  and  delicately  carved  with  mytho- 
logical figures,  of  which  the  most  conspicuous  and  frequently 


50  TEMPLE    OP    SIVA    AT    CHITTORE. 

repeated  are,  Siva  embracing  Parvati,  and  Siva  in  his  charac- 
ter of  destroyer,  with  a  monstrous  Cobra  di  Capello  in  each 
hand.  Our  guides  said  that  the  building  was  500  years  old, 
but  from  its  beautiful  state  of  preservation,  I  should  not  sup- 
pose it  half  that  age.  It  is,  so  far  as  I  could  judge  by  the  eye, 
about  110  or  120  feet  high.  The  view  from  the  top  is  very 
extensive,  but  at  the  present  season  of  the  year,  there  is  so 
much  dust  and  glare  that  a  distant  prospect  cannot  be  seen  to 
advantage  in  this  part  of  India. 

On  our  return  from  the  fort  I  found  the  killadar  with  a  num- 
ber of  people  round  him,  seated  on  the  roof  of  the  colonnade 
which  I  have  mentioned.  I  paid  him  Some  compliments  in 
passing  on  the  magnificence  and  strength  of  his  castle,  which 
he  received  in  a  surly  manner  enough,  barely  standing  up  to 
return  my  civilities.  I  suspect  that,  though  compelled  by  the 
order  of  his  superiors  to  admit  me,  he  was  not  well  pleased  at 
seeing  Feringees  within  his  castle,  and  perhaps  still  less  so, 
that  they  came  by  the  invitation  of  another  person.  We  re- 
turned down  the  hill  by  torch-light,  greatly  pleased  with  our 
visit. 

We  did  not  see  much  of  the  rampart,  but  were  struck  by  the 
very  slight  appearance  of  precaution  or  defence  at  the  gates 
which  we  passed.  There  was  only  one  clumsy  piece  of  can- 
non visible,  and  the  number  of  armed  men  did  not  altogether 
amount  to  sixty.  A  considerable  population  resides  within 
the  fort,  but  they  seemed  all  brahmins,  weavers,  and  market- 
people.  If  well  garrisoned  by  a  British  force,  the  place  would, 
with  the  addition  of  some  casemates,  be  very  nearly  impreg- 
nable. Its  situation  is  such  that  to  batter  it  could  be  of  little 
use,  and  from  its  great  extent,  shells  would  not  occasion  much 
danger  to  the  garrison.  But  to  man  its  walls,  even  in  the 
most  imperfect  manner,  would  require  a  moderate  army. 

In  our  Avay  back  through  the  town,  a  man  begged  of  me, 
saying  that  he  was  blind.  On  my  calling  him,  however,  he 
came  forwards  so  readily  to  the  torches,  and  saw,  I  thought, 
so  clearly,  that  I  asked  him  what  he  meant  by  telling  me  such 
a  lie.  He  answered  that  he  was  night-blind,  (''rat  unda,") 
and  I  not  understanding  the  phrase,  and  having  been  a  good 
deal  worried  during  the  day  with  beggars,  for  the  whole  fort 
is  a  swarm  of  nothing  else,  said  peevishly  "darkness  is  the 
time  for  sleep,  not  for  seeing."  The  people  laughed  as  at  a 
good  thing,  but  I  was  much  mortified  afterwards  to  find  that 
it  was  an  unfeeling  retort.  The  disease  of  night-blindness, 
that  is,  of  requiring  the  full  light  of  day  to  see,  is  very  com- 
mon. Dr.  Smith  said,  among  the  lower  classes  in  India,  and 
to  some  professions  of  men,  such  as  soldiers,  very  inconve- 
nient.    The  sepoys  ascribe  it  to  a  bad  and  insufficient  food, 


SAWA TENURE    OP    LANDS.  5l 

and  it  is  said  to  be  always  most  prevalent  in  a  scarcity.  It 
seems  to  be  the  same  disorder  of  the  eyes  with  which  people 
are  afflicted  who  live  on  damaged  or  inferior  rice,  in  itself  a 
food  of  very  little  nourishment,  and  probably  arises  from  a 
weakness  of  the  digestive  powers.  I  was  grieved  to  tliink  I 
had  insulted  a  man  who  might  be  in  distress,  but  Dr.  Smith 
comforted  me  by  saying  that  even  in  respect  of  night-blind- 
ness, the  man  was  too  alert  to  be  much  of  a  sufferer  from  the 
cause  which  he  mentioned. 

February  23.- — From  Chittore  to  Sawa  is  a  stage  of  ten 
miles,  through  a  country  almost  entirely  covered  with  jungle, 
not  close  and  matted  with  long  grass,  but  open,  of  scattered 
trees  and  bushes,  with  a  tolerable  turf  under  foot.  It  abounds, 
the  suwarrs  told  me,  with  deer  and  wild  hogs,  but  has  very 
few  tigers.  These  last,  indeed,  seem  to  like  long  grass  and 
the  neighbourhood  of  water,  which  is  here  by  no  means  abun- 
dant. There  are,  however,  other  beasts  of  prey.  A  few 
nights  before,  a  wolf  had  carried  away  a  fine  lamb  from  our 
little  flock  close  under  the  nose  of  the  sentinel,  who  did  not 
perceive  the  robber  till  too  late. 

Sawa  is  a  good-sized  town,  walled,  and  containing  two  or 
three  well -looking  houses,  four  handsome  pagodas,  and  two 
very  beautiful  boolees.  An  unusual  number  of  drunken  men, 
four  or  five,  showed  themselves  in  the  course  of  the  day;  they 
came  in  two  parties  to  ask  justice  against  some  Brinjarrees, 
who  they  said  had  beaten  and  robbed  tliem.  It  appeared  on 
cross-examination,  that  in  the  Brinjarree  encampment  spirits 
were,  (in  the  language  of  the  Calcutta  market-book,)  *'  pro- 
curable." These  men  had  been  there  and  had  got  into  some 
quarrel  in  which  they  had  been- soundly  beaten,  and  very  pos- 
sibly robbed  too,  though  this  last  seemed  doubtful,  as  they  had 
still  their  usual  Rajpoot  ornaments  of  silver  about  them,  which 
would,  I  should  think,  have  gone  first.  I  told  them  I  was  not 
the  sovereign  of  the  land,  and  bade  them  go  to  the  Khamdar  of 
the  town.  I  had  seen  very  few  drunken  men  in  India  before, 
but  the  time  of  "Hoolee"  is  now  coming  on,  which  is  the 
Hindoo  carnival,  and  in  which  the  people  of  Central  India 
more  particularly  indulge  in  all  kinds  of  riot  and  festivity. 
The  sepoys  of  my  guard  have  begun  to  assail  the  women  whom 
they  pass  on  their  march  with  singing  and  indecent  language, 
a  thing  seldom  practised  at  other  times.  This  is  also  the  sea- 
son for  pelting  each  other  with  red  powder,  as  we  have  seen 
practised  at  Calcutta. 

I  have  endeavoured,  within  these  few  days,  to  learn  tlie 
tenure  of  lands,  their  rent,  &c.  but  found  that  the  tenure  dif- 
fered in  no  respect  from  that  described  by  Sir  John  Malcolm, 
and  that  there  was  no  fixed  rent  but  an  annual  settlement  with 

Vol.  II.— 5 


52  NEEMHAIRA. 

government — a  ruinous  system,  but  too  common,  as  it  seems, 
all  over  India. 

February  24. — From  Sawato  Neemhaira  there  are  six  coss: 
the  first  part  of  the  road  through  jungle  again.  Indeed  the 
want  of  people  in  this  part  of  Meywar  is  very  striking,  and 
the  more  so  because  the  soil,  though  stony,  is  far  from  bad. 
Water,  however,  it  is  not  impossible,  may  be  difl&cult  to  ob- 
tain, except  at  a  considerable  expense  by  piercing  the  rock.  The 
most  common  tree,  or  rather  bush,  in  these  forests  is  tlie  dhak, 
with  a  large  broad  leaf  like  a  peepul,  and  a  beautiful  pink 
flower  which  now  begins  to  show  itself. 

Neemhaira  is  a  small  town,  surrounded  with  a  better  ram- 
part and  towers  than  any  which  I  have  lately  seen,  and  with 
a  far  better  cultivation  round  it  of  wheat,  barley,  and  poppies. 
The  poppies  are  very  beautiful,  the  more  so  indeed  from  a  cir- 
cumstance which  diminishes  their  value  in  the  opium  market, 
that,  namely,  they  are  red,  white,  and  all  colours  instead  of 
white  only.  Neemhaira  and  the  district  round  it,  containing 
'5.75  villages,  and  yielding  a  revenue,  as  I  was  told  by  the 
towns-people,  of  three  lacs,  form  a  part  of  Ameer  Khan's 
Jaghire,  which  consists  of  four  or  five  detached  territories, 
besides  the  principal  one  of  Tonk,  where  he  himself  resides. 
The  income  of  all  together  has  been  variously  rated  at  from 
ten  to  twenty-four  lacs;  fifteen  or  sixteen  may  probably  be 
about  the  amount.  This  is  far  more  than  he  ever  could  have 
collected  honestly  during  the  time  of  his  greatest  power,  since 
then  he  seldom  was  sure  of  any  part  of  his  territory,  except 
what  was  actually  in  the  possession  of  his  army,  and  his  great 
harvest  always  grew  on  his  neighbour's  lands. 

Neemhaira  is  administered  by  a  Mussulman  officer  of  his, 
under  the  title  of  "moonshee,"  a  very  civil  and  apparently 
well-informed  person.  He  furnished  us  liberally,  and  with- 
out accepting  any  remuneration,  with  fuel,  grass,  &c.  as  well 
as  with  four  goats  as  a  dinner  for  the  people.  The  encamping 
ground,  however,  was  bad,  the  neighbourhoodof  the  town  be- 
ing so  well  cultivated  that  no  place  remained  free,  except 
what  was  covered  with  stones  and  ruins.  There  is  a  neat 
cutcherry  with  three  or  four  small  temples  and  a  little  mosque 
in  the  town;  adjoining  to  the  latter  is  the  tomb  of  Jumsheed 
Kiihn,  the  late  Patan  chief,  who,  with  Bappoo  Sindia,  held 
Oodeypoor  in  so  complete  and  inhuman  subjection.  He  has 
been  dead,  the  moonshee  told  me,  these  five  years.  This  was 
his  Jaghire  till  his  death.  At  present  it  is  subject  to  the  po- 
lice of  our  government,  on  account  of  the  following  transac- 
tion :  a  great  robbery  having  occurred  about  a  year  ago  in  this 
district,  in  which  some  persons,  British  subjects  from  Nee- 
much,  were  attacked,  stripped,  and  some  of  them  killed,  Co- 


NEEMHAIRA.  53 

ionel  Lumley  applied  to  Ameer  Khan  for  justice  or  damages. 
The  Nawab  answered  that  he  had  no  sufficient  army  to  enforce 
his  authority  over  so  distant  a  possession,  and  that  he  wished 
that  the  English  would  take  the  district  in  farm,  pay  him  a 
fair  rent,  and  govern  it  in   their  own  way.     This  offer  was 
'cccepted.   The  moonshee,  though  administering  justice  in  the 
name  of  the   Nawab,  is  appointed  by  Colonel  Lumley,  and 
there  is  a  jemautdar  with  twenty  of  our  horse  quartered  in  the 
town  to  secure  it  and  its  neighbourhood.     This  jemautdar, 
who  called  on  me,  is  one  of  the  finest  old  men  I  have  seen, 
with  a  grey  beard  flowing  over  his  breast.   He  is  a  mussulman, 
and  as  I  should  have  supposed  from  his  tall  stature,  not  of 
this  country,  but  from  the  north  of  Hindostan.     There  is  a 
very  beautiful  boolee  in  the  town,  built  within  these  few  years 
from  a  legacy  left  by  a  rich  merchant.     It  has  a  noble  stair- 
case, and  a  verandah  of  rich  Saracenic  arches  round  the  wall 
about  half-way  down.   The  water  is  now  very  low,  but  in  the 
rains  it  is  full  nearly  to  the  brim.   These  fine  boolees  seemed 
peculiar  to  India  west  of  the  Jumna,  at  least  I  have  never  met 
with  any  like  them  to  the  eastward  of  that  river.     The  prac- 
tice of  having  steps  down  to  the  edge  of  the  water,  as  well  as 
corridors  and  porticos  round  the  wells  at  certain  heights, 
arises  from  the  religious  observances  of  both  Mussulmans  and 
Hindoos,  which  make  washing  an  inseparable  accompaniment 
of  prayer.     As  works  of  art  and  taste,  they  are  eminently 
beautiful,  but  they  are  strangely  deficient  in  any  mechanical 
aids  for  raising  the  water.     No  means  are  used  but  the  small 
brazen  lotee  which  every  body  carries,  or  at  most  an  earthen 
jar  or  skin,  the  former  of  which  is  let  down  by  a  long  string 
from  the  top  of  one  of  the  galleries,  while  the  other  must  be 
carried  down  to  the  water's  edge  and  brought  up  again  on  the 
head  or  back.     There  is  indeed  a  rude  pulley  at  the  top, 
but  this  is  only  used  in  irrigating  the  fields,  and  to  bring  up 
the  large  leathern  bucket  which  is  drawn  by  oxen. 


54 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

NEEMUCH  TO  BARODA. 

3JEEMUCH CHARACTER  OF  RAJPOOTS  AND  BHEELS GOOD   EF- 
FECTS    OF     BRITISH      RULE BORAS CONFIRMATION PER- 

TAUBGHUR MANNER    OF    COLLECTING    OPIUM HEAT,     AND 

PARCHED  STATE  OF  THE  COUNTRY FESTIVAL  OF  THE  HOOLEE 

■■ — BHEEL  HUTS PALACE  OF    BANSWARRA— MURDER    OF    FE- 
MALE INFANTS VISIT    FROM    THE    RAWUL JAIN    TEMPLE 

SHAM-FIGHT  OF  BHEELS VISIT  FROM  THE  RAJA  OF  BARREAH 

DREADFUL  FAMINE BRINJARREES. 

February  25.— From  Neemhaira  to  Neemuch  is  between 
seventeen  and  eighteen  miles,  over  a  more  open  and  rather 
better  cultivated  country.  Neemuch  itself  differs  in  no  con- 
spicuous respect  from  any  of  the  other  large  cantonments  oi" 
the  Bengal  army.  It  is  a  stationary  camp  of  thatched  bunga- 
lows and  other  buildings,  open  on  all  sides,  and  surrounded 
by  a  fine  plain  for  the  performance  of  military  evolutions.  The 
soldiers  are  employed  in  building  a  sort  of  fort,  as  a  shelter 
to  the  women,  children,  and  stores,  in  time  of  need.  There 
is  a  fine  house  here  built  by  Sir  David  Ochterlony,  and  well 
furnished,  but  which  he  has  never  occupied.  These  build- 
ings, with  the  surrounding  slip  of  Meidan,  constitute  the  en- 
tire British  territory  in  this  neighbourhood;  the  small  town  of 
Neemuch,  and  most  of  the  surrounding  country,  belonging  to 
Sindia.  The  cantonment  itself  is  in  fact  on  his  ground,  but 
was  sold  or  ceded  by  him,  though  with  considerable  reluctance, 
at  the  last  peace.  Not  even  Swabia,  or  the  Palatinate,  can 
offer  a  more  chequered  picture  of  interlaced  sovereignties  than 
Meywar,  and  indeed  all  Malwah,  of  which  Meywar,  in  com- 
mon parlance,  is  always  reckoned  a  part.  In  the  heart  of 
the  territory  which  on  our  English  maps  bears  Sindia's  colour, 
are  many  extensive  districts  belonging  to  Holkar,  Ameer 
Khan,  the  Raja  of  Kotah,  &c. ;  and  here  scarcely  any  two 
villages  together  belong  to  the  same  sovereign.  Sindia,  how- 
ever, though  all  this  is  usually  reckoned  beyond  his  boundary, 
has  the  lion's  share.  Never  was  an  arrangement  better  cal- 
culated to  ensure  protection  and  impunity  to  robbers,  even  if 
there  had  not  been  abundance  of  jungle  and  inaccessible  rocks, 
inhabited  by  a  race,  (the  Bheels,)  whose  avowed  profession,, 
from  the  remotest  antiquity,  has  been  plunder.  The  presence 


NEEMUCH.  55 

of  a  powerful  army  in  the  midst  of  such  a  territory,  under  of- 
ficers anxious  and  interested  in  the  maintenance  of  good  or- 
der, has  of  course  contributed  greatly  to  repress  these  disor- 
ders, and  must,  as  I  should  apprehend,  be  regarded  as  a  real 
benefit  and  blessing  to  the  country  by  all  its  peaceable  and  in- 
dustrious inhabitants. 

I  was  very  hospitably  entertained  at  Neemuch  by  Captain 
Macdonald,  political  agent  for  this  part  of  India,  and  brother 
to  Major  Macdonald  Kinnier,  whose  travels  in  Asia  were  pub- 
lished some  years  ago.   He  was  a  long  time  Aids-de-camp  and 
secretary  to  Sir  John  Malcolm.     I  derived  much  valuable  in- 
formation from  him  respecting  the  route  to  Bombay,  which  is 
all  under  his  control,  and  which  he  had  himself  surveyed  and 
laid  down  in  a  new  direction, — the  route  to  Saugor, — the  in- 
habitants of  this  and  the  neighbouring  countries,  and  their  ru- 
lers.    There  was  no  doubt  of  the  route  to  Saugor,  (which,  in 
my  anxiety  to  rejoin  my  wife  and  children,  I  had  still  a  great 
hankering  after,)  through  Bundelcund  and  Mirzapoor  being 
perfectly  safe  and  practicable,  though  I  should  latterly  find 
the  heat  very  oppressive  in  marching,  and  almost  intolerable 
in  a  palanqueen.     Nor,  indeed,  did  it  appear  that  there  were 
means  for  laying  a  Dak  in  that  direction,  so  that  I  could  not 
hope  to  arrive  on  the  river  till  the  20th  or  21st  of  April.     As 
to  the  facilities  of  proceeding  from  Mirzapoor  by  water,    I 
found  too  opposite  statements;  some  maintaining  that  the  pas- 
sage might,  by  the  help  of  the  stream,  be  made  in  six  weeks; 
while  one  ofiicer,  who  said  he  had  himself  performed  it,  de- 
clared that  it  would,  from  the  delay  occasioned  by  the  southern 
monsoon,  occupy  at  least  two  months  or  ten  weeks,  even  sup- 
posing, which  was  not  always  to  be  expected,  that  the  Moor- 
shedabad  river  was  open,  and  that  I  was  spared  the  detour 
by  Chundna  and  the  Sunderbunds,  which  would  make  three 
weeks  more.     On  the  whole,   unless  I  determined  to  go  by 
Dak  from  Benares  to  Calcutta,  a  measure  not  to  be  adopted 
in  April  or  May  without  real  necessity,  I  found  that  I  should 
gain  but  little  time  by  giving  up  Bombay,  while  by  doing  so, 
the  sacrifice  of  probable  usefulness  and  future  convenience 
which  I  should  make  would  be  very  great.     I  therefore  made 
up  my  mind,  though  with  a  heavy  heart,  to  go  on,  in  the  hope 
that  a  kind  Providence  would  still  continue  to   watch  over 
those  dear  objects,  to  meet  whom  in  safety,  after  my  long  ab- 
sence, was  at  present  my  chief  earthly  wish.     I  determined, 
however,  on  relinquishing  my  visit  to  Mhow,  because  Captain 
Macdonald  assured  me  both  that  the  earlier  in  April   1  left 
the  hot  country  of  Guzerat  the  better,  and  also  that  after  the 
middle  of  that  month  I  should  find  considerable  difficulty  in 
obtaining  a  passage  by  sea  from  Surat  t6  Bombay. 

5* 


56  CHARACTER  OF  THE  BHEELS. 

The  cliaracter  of  the  Rajpoots,  and  their  government,  Cap- 
tain Macdonald  represented  in  unfavourable  terms.  The 
people,  vi'ho  are  grievously  oppressed,  and  have  been,  till  very 
lately,  engaged  in  incessant  war,  have  the  vices  of  slaves  added 
to  those  of  robbers,  with  no  more  regard  to  truth  than  the  na- 
tives of  our  own  provinces,  exceeding  them  in  drunkenness, 
fondness  for  opium,  and  sensuality,  while  they  have  a  blood- 
thirstiness  from  which  the  great  mass  of  Hindoos  are  very  far 
removed.  Their  courage,  however,  and  the  gallant  efforts 
they  made  to  defend  their  territories  against  the  MaharattaSy 
deserve  high  praise;  and  some  effects  of  a  favourable  nature 
have  been  produced  among  them  by  the  intercourse  which  they 
have  had  with  the  English.  The  specimens  of  our  natian 
which  they  have  hitherto  seen,  have  on  the  whole,  been  very 
favourable.  None  of  the  King's  regiments  have  yet  been  sent 
here,  and  few  Europeans  of  any  description  except  officers. 
They  have,  therefore,  seen  little  of  the  drunkenness  and  vio- 
lence of  temper  which  have  made  the  natives  of  our  own  pro- 
vinces at  once  fear  and  despise  a  Feringee  soldier,  and  they 
still,  Captaia  Macdonald  says,  admire  us  more  and  wonder 
more  at  the  difference  of  wisdom,  morals,  and  policy,  which 
they  perceive  between  us  and  them,  than  any  other  people  with 
whom  he  has  had  intercourse  in  India.  And  he  is  of  opinion 
that  their  present  state  of  feeling  affords  by  no  means  an  un- 
favourable soil  for  the  labours  of  a  missionary. 

The  Bheels  were  regarded  both  by  him  and  the  other  officers 
with  whom  I  conversed,  as  unquestionably  the  original  inha- 
bitants of  the  country,  and  driven  to  their  present  fastnesses 
and  their  present  miserable  way  of  life  by  the  invasion  of  those 
tribes,  wherever  they  ma}^  have  come  from,  who  profess  the 
religion  of  Brahma.  This  the  Rajpoots  themselves,  in  this 
part  of  India,  virtually  allow,  it  being  admitted  in  the  tradi- 
tional history  of  most  of  their  principal  cities  and  fortresses,  that 
they  were  founded  by  such  or  such  Bheel  chiefs,  and  conquered 
from  them  by  such  or  such  children  of  the  Sun.  Their  man- 
ners are  described  as  resembling,  in  very  many  respects,  those 
of  the  Rajmahal  Puharrees.  And,  thieves  and  savages  as  they 
are,  I  found  that  the  officers  with  whom  I  conversed,  thought 
them  on  the  whole  a  better  race  than  their  conquerors.  Their 
word  is  more  to  be  depended  on,  they  are  of  a  franker  and 
livelier  character,  their  women  are  far  better  treated  and  en- 
joy more  influence,  and  though  they  shed  blood  without  scru- 
ple in  cases  of  deadly  fued,  or  in  the  regular  way  of  a  foray, 
they  are  not  vindictive  or  inhospitable  under  other  circum- 
stances, and  several  British  officei's  have,  with  perfect  safety, 
gone  hunting  and  tishing  into  their  country,  without  escort  or 
guide,  except  what  these  poor  savages  themselves  cheerfully 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  BHEELS.  57 

furnished  for  a  little  brandy.  This  is  the  more  touching,  since 
on  this  frontier  nothing  has  been  done  for  them,  and  they  have 
been  treated,  I  now  found,  with  unmingled  severity.  In  the 
south,  where  Sir  John  Malcolm  could  carry  every  thing  in  his 
own  way,  he  raised  a  corps  out  of  their  number,  which  he 
placed  under  the  command  of  their  own  chiefs,  and  subjected 
to  just  as  much  discipline  as  a  wild  people  were  likely  to  bear, 
and  as  was  necessary  for  the  nature  of  the  service  in  which 
they  were  to  be  employed.  He  also  secured  them  the  peace- 
able possession  of  a  certain  portion  of  their  lands  which  had 
been  depopulated  by  the  Pindarrees,  obtaining  for  them  a 
freedom  from  taxes  for  a  sufficient  number  of  years  to  make 
it  worth  their  while  to  acquire  industrious  habits.  In  short, 
he  proceeded  in  nearly  the  same  manner,  and  with  full  as 
much  success  as  Cleveland  did  with  the  Puharrees. 

In  this  part  of  India  nothing  of  the  kind  has  been  done ; 
they  have,  indeed,  had  facilities  held  out  to  tiiem  to  enter  into 
our  local  corps,  but  these  corps  are  under  the  same  severe  dis- 
cipline and  exact  drill  with  the  regular  regiments,  which  it  is 
idle  to  suppose  that  a  savage  would  endure.  Though  there  is 
waste  land  in  abundance,  no  effectual  measures  have  been 
taken  to  persuade  the  princes  of  the  country  to  allow  or  in- 
duce the  Bheels  to  settle  in  it,  and  as  these  poor  people  them- 
selves complain,  we  punish  them  for  robbing  while  we  give  them 
no  means  of  earning  their  subsistence  in  an  honest  way. 

The  difficulties,  indeed,  which  the  English  residents  have 
to  encounter  in  their  attempts  to  improve  the  condition  either 
of  Bheels  or  Hindoos,  are  in  this  country  very  great.  All  in- 
terference in  the  internal  concerns  of  the  petty  sovereigns, 
who  are  the  Company's  feudatories,  is  naturally  viewed  with 
a  jealous  eye  by  the  native  rulers  themselves,  and  except  in 
the  way  of  advice  or  indirect  influence,  is,  in  all  ordinary  cases, 
discouraged  by  the  supreme  government.  The  Rajas  of  these 
states  are  the  most  ignorant  and  degraded  of  nien,  incompe- 
tent to  judge  of  their  own  true  interests,  and  uninfluenced  by 
any  other  motive  wliich  might  induce  them  to  consult  the  hap- 
piness of  their  people. 

The  Ranah  of  Oodeypoor,  in  addition  to  the  circumstances 
of  his  character  which  I  have  already  detailed,  is  surrounded 
and  governed  by  minions  of  the  most  hateful  description,  who 
drain  his  treasury,  force  him  to  contract  new  debts,  and 
squeeze  his  people  to  the  utmost.  The  heir  apparent  of  Per- 
taubghur,  who  had  till  lately  been  the  efficient  sovereign  of 
the  country,  is  now  in  confinement  by  order  of  the  English 
Government,  inconsequence  of  his  having  committed,  in  about 
three  years'  time,  no  fewer  than  six  murders  with  his  own 
hands,   or,   at  least,   sanctioned  them  by  his  presence.     His 


58  NATIVE    SOVEREIGNS. 

father,  the  Raja,  who  was  entirely  unable  to  restrain  him,  but 
pleaded  with  many  tears  for  his  liberty,  is  a  poor  old  man, 
past  every  thing  except  a  strong  affection  for  his  unworthy  son, 
and  a  spirit  of  avarice  which  seems  to  know  no  bounds,  and 
will  not  be  convinced  that  he  would  increase  his  revenues, 
eventually,  by  allowing  his  waste  lands  to  be  cultivated  at 
easy  rents.  The  Raja  of  Banswarra  is  a  very  young  and  weak 
prince,  and  the  Rajas  of  Lunewarra  and  Doongerpoor  are,  in 
fact,  without  power  to  do  good ;  the  territories  of  the  former 
never  having  recovered  from  the  cruelty  of  the  Pindarrees, 
and,  consequently,  are  become  jungle  from  one  end  to  the 
other,  and  the  poor  prince  of  Doongerpoor  being  in  the  hands 
of  a  party  of  rebels  who  have  shut  up  themselves  and  him  in  a 
strong  castle,  where  they  are  at  this  moment  besieged  by  a 
body  of  the  Bombay  army,  who,  finding  themselves  unequal 
to  their  work,  have  applied  for  help  to  Neemuch. 

In  such  a  state  of  society,  and  in  a  country  previously  re- 
tluced  by  Maharattas  and  Pindarrees  to  a  state  of  universal 
misery,  such  as  no  country  besides  has  known,  little  can  be 
done  in  the  way  of  advice  or  influence  by  young  men  station- 
ed at  different  courts,  and  obliged  to  apply  for  directions  to  a 
government  1000  miles  off.     It  is  even  probable  that  too  fre- 
quent or  too  arbitrary  interference  would  defeat  its  own  ends, 
and  that  such  a  close   connexion  as  subsists  with  Oude,  for 
instance,  would,  as  in  that  case,  by  no  means  add  to  the  hap- 
piness of  the  people  whom  we  seek  to  benefit.     But  that  for 
these  poor  Bheels,  many  advantages  might  be  even  now  ob- 
tained, and  that  it  would  be  a  wise  as  well  as  a  most  humane 
policy  to  secure  them  as  our  allies,  in  any  future  struggles  in 
this  part  of  India,  I  am  fully  persuaded ;  as  well  as  that,  had 
Sir  John  Malcolm  been  made  governor,  as  he  desired  to  be,  of 
all  Central  India,  this  point,  and  many  others  advantageous 
to  the  people  of  the  country,  would  have  been,  long  since,  se- 
cured permanently.     No  difficulties  could  be  greater  than 
those  which  he  met  with  in  southern  Malwah,  and  yet  that 
country,  from  a  mere  wilderness,  is  now,  I  am  told,  a  garden. 
There  are,  indeed,  few  such  governors  as  Sir  John  Malcolm 
to  be  found,  but  any  intelligent  government  established  with 
distinct  powers,  and  the  advantages  of  local  information,  in 
the  centre  of  India,  would,  lam  convinced,  be  a  great  bless- 
ing to  the  country,  and   a  security  to  our  dominion  here,  so 
great  as  hardly  to  be  appreciated. 

Meantime  it  is  satisfactory  tofind  that,  though  our  influence 
has  not  done  all  the  good  which  might  be  desired  or  expected, 
that  which  has  been  done  is  really  considerable.  Except  from 
these  poor  Bheels,  and  from  the  few  gangs  of  marauders  which 
still  lurk  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  that  country  is  now 


BRITISH    GOVERNMENT BORAS.  59 

at  peace,  and  how  slight  are  these  dangers,  and  how  easy  to 
be  borne  are  the  oppressions  of  their  native  Rajas,  in  compa- 
rison with  the  annual  swarm  of  Pindarree  horsemen,  who 
robbed,  burned,  ravished,  enslaved,  tortured,  and  murdered 
over  the  whole  extent  of  territory  from  the  Runn  to  the  Bay 
of  Bengal  ?  While  their  inroads  are  remembered,  to  say  no- 
thing of  Jeswunt  Row  Holkar  and  Ameer  Khan,  the  coming 
of  tlie  English  cannot  but  be  considered  as  a  blessing.  And 
I  only  hope  that  we  may  not  destroy  the  sort  of  reverence  and 
awful  regard  with  which,  I  believe,  our  nation  is  still  looked 
upon  here. 

Captain  Macdonald  agreed  with  Dr.  Gibb  in  speaking  of 
the  Mussulman  governors  as  wiser  and  better  than  the  Hin- 
doos; their  religion,  in  fact,  is  better,  and  their  education  is 
something  superior.  3ut  it  sh@uld  seem,  by  what  he  says, 
that  Sindia's  territories,  and  Holkar's,  are  also  better  go- 
verned than  those  of  these  western  princes,  whose  misfortunes- 
and  long-continued  degradation  seem  to  have  done  any  thing 
but  taught  them  wisdom.  Sindia  is,  himself,  a  man  by  no 
means  deficient  in  talents  or  good  intentions;  but  his  exten- 
sive and  scattered  territories  have  never  been  under  any  re- 
gular system  of  control,  and  his  Maharatta  nobles,  though  they 
too  are  described  as  a  better  race  than  the  Rajpoots,  are  rob- 
bers almost  by  profession,  and  only  suppose  themselves  to 
thrive  when  they  are  living  at  the  expense  of  their  neighbours. 
Still,  from  his  well-disciplined  army  and  numerous  artillery, 
his  government  has  a  stability  which  secures  peace,  at  least, 
to  the  districts  under  his  own  eye;  and  as  the  Pindarrees 
feared  to  provoke  him,  and  even  professed  to  be  his  subjects, 
his  country  has  retained  its  ancient  wealth  and  fertility  to  a 
greater  degree  than  most  other  parts  of  Central  India.  The 
territories  of  Holkar  were  as  badly  off  as  any,  but  for  their 
restoration  they  had  the  advantages  of  Sir  John  Malcolm's 
advice  and  commanding  influence.  The  ministers  who  have 
ruled  the  country  during  the  young  Raja's  minority,  are  of 
his  choice;  the  system  of  administering  justice  and  collecting 
the  revenue,  recommended  by  him,  has  been  preserved,  and, 
by  all  which  I  can  learn,  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Nerbud- 
dah  has  enjoyed,  during  the  last  ten  years,  a  greater  degree 
of  peace  and  prosperity  than  it  perhaps  ever  did  before  within 
the  limits  of  Hindoo  history. 

Besides  the  Rajpoots,  Bheels,  and  Jains,  a  good  many  Jats 
are  scattered  up  and  down  these  provinces,  chiefly  as  culti- 
vators of  the  land.  There  are  also  more  Mussulmans  than  I 
expected  to  find,  of  whom  the  majority  are  of  Patan  race  and 
of  the  Sunnite  sect.  The  smaller,  but  by  far  the  wealthier 
and  more  industrious  party,  are  here  xalled  Boras, — a  sect 


60  RELIGIOUS  TUMULT. 

whose  opinions  are  but  imperfectly  ascertained.  They  ap- 
proach nearest  to  the  Sheeahs,  with  a  tendency  towards 
Sootteism,  and  are  believed  by  Captain  Macdonald  to  be  a 
remnant  of  the  old  sect  of  Hussunus,  or  as  they  are  called  in 
European  History,  "  Assassins."  They  have  nothing,  how- 
ever, at  present  of  the  sanguinary  and  warlike  temper  which 
distinguished  the  followers  of  the  "  Old  Man  of  the  Moun- 
tain." They  are  in  general  very  peaceable  and  orderly  mer- 
chants and  tradesmen,  and  have  considerable  influence  and 
privileges  in  most  of  the  cities  of  Central  India,  agreeing  far 
better  with  both  Jains  and  Rajpoots  than  their  fiery  Sunnite 
rivals.  Between  these  last  and  them,  however,  blood  has 
been  lately  shed.  A  new  Sunnite  teacher  in  the  city  of 
Mundissore,  a  few  weeks  since,  thought  proper  to  distinguish 
himself  by  a  furious  attack  on  the  Sheeite  heresy  from  the 
pulpit,  and  by  exhorting  the  true  believers  to  cast  out  such 
wretches  from  dwelling  among  them.  In  consequence  some 
wealthy  Boras  were  insulted  in  the  bazar  by  the  Patans,  and 
a  fray  ensued,  in  which  the  Boras,  peaceable  as  they  gene- 
rally are,  had  the  advantage.  The  Sunnite  preacher  was 
killed,  but  his  body,  was  buried  by  his  friends  with  all  the 
honours  of  Martyrdom.  The  fray  was  again  renewed,  when 
the  Patans  killed  several  Boras  and  drove  the  rest  from  the 
place,  declaring  that  they  would  pursue  their  advantage  in  all 
the  neighbouring  towns  till  the  accursed  were  rooted  from  the 
earth.  It  ended  in  two  companies  of  British  sepoys  being 
sent  to  keep  the  peace,  and  in  the  arresting  of  one  or  two 
ringleaders.  Had  not  a  large  force  been  at  hand,  it  is  pro- 
bable that  a  grand  war  would  have  begun  between  the  parties 
in  half  the  towns  of  Malwahj  so  easily  is  blood  shed  where 
all  hands  are  armed  and  all  laws  feeble. 

February  26. — I  dined  with  Colonel  Lumley,  the  Com- 
mandant of  the  station. 

February  27. — I  read  prayers  and  preached  in  the  draw- 
ing-room of  Sir  David  Ochterlony's  house  to  a  congregation 
of  nearly  a  hundred.  I  had  eight  communicants,  and,  which 
I  did  not  expect,  four  applicants  for  confirmation,  among 
whom  was  my  host,  Captain  Macdonald. 

February  28. — I  sent  off*  the  tents  and  people  at  sunrise, 
but  Dr.  Smith  and  I  remained  till  night  or  rather  morning, 
when  we  travelled  in  our  palanqueens  towards  Pertaubghur 
The  weather  had  been  really  cold  for  several  days,  and  this 
night  there  was  a  hard  frost,  a  circumstance  which  I  did  not 
expect  at  this  time  of  year  and  in  this  latitude.  We  are  here, 
however,  in  one  of  the  highest  parts  of  Malwah,  all  of  which 
is  considerably  elevated  above  the  sea.  The  height  of  the 
plain  of  Pertaubghur  is  reckoned  at  about  1700  feet,  an  alti- 


PERTAUBGHUR DEATH  OP  A  BHEEL  GUIDE.      61 

tude,  however,  hardly  sufficient  to  account  for  the  degree  of 
cold  which  was  felt.  For  us  this  was  very  pleasant  and 
wholesome,  but  the  opium  crops  and  the  fruit-trees  were  sad 
sufferers.  Captain  Macdonald  sajs,  that  Malwah  suits  most 
European  garden-stufi:'  well,  but  potatoes  degenerate  fast,  and 
are  of  so  small  a  size,  that  the  natives  after,  in  many  in- 
stances, trying  the  experiment,  have  ceased  to  cultivate  them. 
He  had  some  tolerable  ones  in  his  own  garden,  some  fine 
roses,  just  come  into  bloom,  and  a  good  show  of  strawberries 
not  quite  ripe. 

March  1. — We  arrived  at  Pertaubghur,  a  small  city,  the 
residence  of  a  petty  Raja,  with  a  battalion  of  sepoys  canton- 
ed in  the  neighbourhood.  The  commandant,  Major  Hamil- 
ton, showed  us  much  hospitality  and  kindness,  and  from  him, 
as  being  placed  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Bheels, 
I  obtained  a  good  deal  of  the  information  which  I  have,  in  the 
last  few  pages,  communicated  in  respect  to  them.  Pertaub- 
ghur contains  little  or  nothing  worth  seeing.  The  country 
round  it  is  undulating  and  fertile,  with  extensive  fields  of 
poppies  and  wheat,  and  a  good  many  scattered  peepul-trees. 
The  groves  of  fruit-trees  seem  to  have  been  all  ruined  by  the 
Pindarrees,  and,  in  spite  of  its  fertility,  all  beyond  the  imme- 
diate neighbourhood  of  the  large  towns  is  jungle.  The  Raja 
has  the  privilege  of  coining  money,  grounded,  as  he  pretends, 
but  as  seems  very  doubtful,  on  a  grant  of  one  of  the  Mogul 
emperors.  He  was  allowed  to  retain  it  when  he  became  feu- 
datory to  the  British  government,  but  has  so  repeatedly 
abused  it  by  fraudulently  altering  the  standard,  that  he  pro- 
bably will  not  be  suffered  to  strike  money  much  longer.  Or- 
naments of  gold,  silver,  and  enamel  are  to  be  procured  here; 
I  saw  a  necklace  and  bracelets  of  gold  embossed  with  the 
twenty-four  avatars  of  Indian  mythology,  which  were  very 
curious  and  prettily  wrought. 

March  2. — I  was  joined  by  nine  more  horsemen  of  Captain 
Smith's  local  regiment,  making  the  number  of  my  escort 
eighteen.  I  had  not  asked  for  any  increase  of  guards,  but 
Colonel  Lumley  told  me  that  my  road  lay  too  near  the  seat 
of  war  in  Doongurpoor,  and  through  a  country  at  all  times  so 
unsettled  that  he  did  not  like  to  send  me  away  with  a  smaller 
number.  Yet  the  road  takes  us,  comparatively,  through  a 
far  better  country  than  that  which  used  to  be  followed,  and 
which  led  directly  through  the  gorge  of  the  mountains  at  Gul- 
liakote  into  a  very  dismal  wilderness  of  several  day's  journey, 
so  much  infested  by  tygers  that  no  travellers  could  safely 
move  before  sunrise.  The  consequence  of  a  contempt  of  this 
precaution  Major  Hamilton  told  me  in  an  affecting  story. 
One  of  his  acquaintance,  who  was  marching  with  a  body  of  troops 


62  CHOMPNA. 

between  Gulliakote  and  Luneewarra,  called  on  a  Bheel  vil- 
lager to  be  his  guide  through  the  wood  very  early  one  morn- 
ing. The  Bheel  remonstrated,  observing  that  it  was  not  the 
custom  of  the  country  to  march  before  day-light,  and  that  it 
was  dangerous  to  do  so.  The  officer  supposing  this  to  be  the 
mere  pretext  of  laziness,  was  positive,  and  threatened  him  if 
he  did  not  go  on.  The  man  said  nothing  more,  but  took  his 
shield  and  sword  and  walked  on  along  the  narrow  path  over- 
hung with  long  grass  and  bamboos. — The  officer  followed  at 
the  head  of  his  men,  and  had  moved  slowly  half  asleep  on  his 
saddle  for  about  five  miles,  when  he  heard  a  hideous  roar,  and 
saw  a  very  large  tyger  spring  past  him  so  close  that  he  almost 
brushed  his  horse.  The  poor  Bheel  lifted  up  his  sword  and 
shield,  but  v/as  down  in  an  instant  under  the  animal's 
paws,  who  turned  round  with  him  in  his  mouth,  growling  like 
a  cat  over  a  mouse,  and  looked  the  officer  in  the  face.  He  did 
what  could  be  done,  and  with  his  men  attacked  the  tyger, 
whom  they  wounded  so  severely  that  he  dropped  his  prey. 
But  the  first  blow  had  done  its  work  eiFectually,  and  the  poor 
man's  skull  was  mashed  in  such  a  manner  as,  literally  to  be 
all  in  pieces.  The  officer  told  Major  Hamilton  that  from  that 
day  forwards  this  scene  was  seldom  absent  from  his  dreams, 
and  with  the  least  illness  or  fever  he  had  always  a  return  of 
the  vision  of  the  tyger,  with  the  unfortunate  man  in  his  jaws, 
whom  his  imprudence  had  sacrificed. 

March  3. — We  went  this  morning  about  seventeen  miles  to 
a  small  and  very  poor  village  named  Chompna,  whither  sup- 
plies had  been  sent  beforehand  by  tlie  Raja  of  Pertaubghur, 
who  was  himself  at  Deeoleear,  a  fort  at  some  distance,  but  from 
whom  we  had  a  civil  message.  The  country  is  pretty,  with  a 
mixture  of  wood  and  arable  land  which  is  by  no  means  disa- 
greeable. The  trees  are  either  dhak  or  peepul,  but  near  the 
villages  are  a  few  mangoes  now  in  blossom.  The  hills  are  low, 
but  \evy  rocky,  the  valleys  and  level  ground  of  a  rich  and 
deep  though  light  black  loam,  which  under  a  good  government, 
would  soon  be  a  garden.  The  villagers,  however,  are  among 
the  poorest  that  I  have  seen,  and  reminded  me  in  dress  and 
squalor,  though  not  quite  in  the  outward  signs  of  ill-health, 
of  the  wretched  inhabitants  of  the  Terrai  of  Rohilcund.  These 
poor  people  complained  bitterly  of  the  injury  done  to  their  pop- 
piesby  the  frost  which  was  again  severe  last  night.  Their  wheat 
is  happily  very  promising,  but  it  is  on  the  opium  that  they  chiefly 
depend  to  pay  their  rents.  The  heavy  transit  duties  imposed 
by  the  different  Rajas  on  the  exportation  and  importation  of 
corn  are  very  ruinous  to  agriculture.  In  Guzeriit  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  fertile  region  would,  generally,  have  a  ready  mar- 
ket for  their  wheat,  and  during  this  present  year  it  bears  a 


POPPY  GROUNDS AMBERA.  63 

price  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Baroda  treble  to  what  it  bears 
at  Pertaubghur,  being  twentj-seven  seer  the  rupee  at  the  lat- 
ter place,  and  at  the  former,  if  we  are  rightly  informed,  nine 
the  rupee,  a  difference  which,  with  an  open  and  easy  com- 
munication could  not  possibly  exist  unless  the  intermediate 
duties  were  exorbitant.  If  this  is  the  case,  it  would  be  surely, 
a  fair  subject  of  interference  on  the  part  of  the  Company's 
government,  as  both  Guzerat  and  Malwah  would  be  gainers  bv 
a  free  interchange  of  their  commodities.  It  should  seem,  how- 
ever, either  that  these  tolls  have  been  lowered,  or  that  the 
present  high  price  has  of  itself  been  a  sufficient  stimulus  to 
prompt  men  to  carry  corn  southwards,  inasmuch  as,  though 
we  had  as  yet  seen  none,  we  met  or  overtook,  in  the  course  of 
our  onward  journey,  a  great  many  parties  of  brinjarrees  and 
wagoners,  who  were  either  taking  corn  from  Malwah,  or 
were  going  thither  from  Guzerat  to  purchase  it.  The  people, 
however,  complained  that  even  now  the  profit  they  should 
make  would,  to  use  their  own  phrase,  *'  not  be  enough  to  fill 
their  bellies." 

One  of  Dr.  Smith's  saeeses  died  to-day.  He  was  taken  so 
ill  in  his  march  to  this  place  as  to  be  unable  to  proceed.  I 
sent  an  elephant  and  some  people  for  him,  who  found  him  in- 
sensible, and  he  remained  so  till  he  expired,  soon  after  his  ar- 
rival.  The  cholera  had  showed  itself  in  several  instances  at  Per- 
taubghur, but  this  was  apparently  nothing  of  the  kind.  He 
was  a  Hindoo,  and  was  burned  by  his  companions  in  the  course 
of  the  evening. 

The  grain,  "  dhana,"  had  just  been  cut  before  this  nipping 
wind  and  frost  arrived — happily,  as  the  suwarrs  told  me,  or 
that  also  must  have  suffered. 

We  met  to-day  a  considerable  number  of  bullocks  laden 
with  an  intoxicating  drug  called  "  Mhowa,"  a  flower,  the  juice 
of  which  they  ferment  and  take  in  various  forms.  It  grows  on 
a  large  tree,  and  drops  off  about  this  time  of  year.  The  part 
which  they  use  is  the  roitnd  bulb,  or  calyx,  from  which  the 
leaves  grow.  The  colour  is  a  pale  pink.  These  men  were 
bringing  their  loads  from  Doongerpoor  to  Pertaubghur,  against 
the  great  period  of  the  Hoolee,  when  all  sorts  of  indulgence 
and  excitation  are  in  request. 

March  4. — We  marched  seven  coss,  or  about  sixteen  miles, 
to  Amba  Ramba,  or,  as  it  is  generally  called,  Ambera.  The 
country  during  this  march  becomes  more  rugged  and  woody, 
but  is  still  tolerably  well  cultivated;  and  after  passing  a  low 
but  rocky  chain  of  hills,  I  was  glad  to  see  that  the  people  were 
at  work  in  their  poppy-grounds,  and  that  the  frost,  to  all  ap- 
pearance, had  not  extended  far  in  this  direction.  The  opium 
IS  collected  by  making  two  or  three  superficial  incisions  in  the 

Vol.  II.— 6 


64  AMBERA. 

seed-vessel  of  the  poppy,  whence  a  milky  juice  exudes,  which 
is  carefully  collected.  The  time  of  cutting  them  seems  to  be 
as  soon  as  the  petals  of  flower  fiiU  off,  which  is  about  the  pre- 
sent season.  Sugar-mills  are  seen  in  every  village,  but  no 
canes  are  now  growing.  The  crops  of  barley  and  wheat  are 
very  thin,  and  the  whole  country  bears  marks  of  drought, 
though  not  by  any  means  so  decidedly  and  dismally  as  Jye- 
poor. 

Ambera  is  a  large  village  on  the  slope  of  a  hill,  with  a  nul- 
lah not  far  from  it  now  standing  in  pools,  and  some  large  trees. 
At  some  little  distance  it  is  enclosed  by  rocks  fringed  with 
wood,  and  the  scene  would  be  beautiful  if  it  were  less  parch- 
ed and  sun-burnt.  The  morning  had  been  again  cold,  but  it 
was  very  hot  during  the  day.  We  must  now,  indeed,  expect 
to  be  more  or  less  inconvenienced  by  heat,  and  may  reckon 
ourselves  fortunate  in  the  frosty  mornings  v/hich  have  so  long 
favoured  us.  The  people  of  Ambera  were  very  noisy  all  day 
and  great  part  of  the  night,  in  the  merriment  of  the  Hoolee. 
In  the  course  of  the  evening  a  man  came  to  us  who  said  he 
was  a  Charun  from  Catty  war.  He  had  not  his  distinctive  dress 
on,  which  I  was  curious  to  see.  I  told  him,  therefore,  to  bring 
his  "burra  pugree,"  or  large  turban,  and  that  he  should  have 
a  present.  He  promised  to  do  so,  but  never  returned,  .and 
had,  possibly,  laid  claim  to  a  character  which  did  not  belong 
to  him. 

I  was  to-day  talking  with  Dr.  Smith  on  the  remarkably  di- 
minutive stature  of  the  women  all  over  India,  a  circumstance 
extending,  with  very  few  exceptions,  to  the  female  children 
of  Europeans  by  native  mothers?  and  observed  that  one  could 
hardly  suppose  such  little  creatures  to  be  the  mothers  or 
daughters  of  so  tall  men  as  many  of  the  sepoys  are.  He  an- 
swered, that  the  women  whom  we  saw  in  the  streets  and  fields, 
and  those  with  whom  only,  under  ordinary  circumstances, 
Europeans  could  form  connexions,  were  of  the  lowest  caste, 
whose  growth  was  stinted  from  an  early  age  by  poverty  and 
hard  labour,  and  whose  husbands  and  brothers  v»'ere  also,  as  I 
might  observe,  of  a  very  mean  stature.  That  the  sepoys,  and 
respectable  natives  in  general,  kept  their  women  out  of  our 
way  as  much  as  possible;  but  that  he,  as  a  medical  man,  had 
frequently  had  women  of  the  better  sort  brought  to  him  for 
advice,  whose  personal  advantages  corresponded  with  those  of 
their  husbands,  and  who  were  of  stature  equal  to  the  common 
run  of  European  females. 

March  5. — About  two  miles  beyMid  Ambera,  the  road  de- 
scends a  steep  pass  overhung  with  trees,  into  an  extensive  fo- 
rest which  we  traversed  for  fifteen  miles  to  Chotee  Sirwan,  a 
small  station  of  police  sepoys,  near  which  our  tents  were 


BHEEL    VILLAGE CHOTEE    SIRWAN.  65 

pitched.  The  tract,  however,  is  not  entirely  without  inhabi- 
tants. Soon  after  descending  from  the  ghat  we  came  to  a 
Bheel  hut,  whose  owner  we  engaged,  by  tlie  promise  of  a  re- 
ward, to  guide  us  through  the  jungle,  and  afterwards  passed 
two  or  three  little  hamlets  of  the  same  nation,  with  small 
patches  of  cultivation  round  each.  The  huts  were  all  of  the 
rudest  description,  of  sticks  wattled  with  long  grass,  and  a 
thatch  of  the  same,  with  boughs  laid  over  it  to  keep  it  from 
being  blown  away.  They  were  crowded  close  together,  as  if 
for  mutual  protection,  but  with  a  small  thatched  enclosure  ad- 
joining for  their  cattle.  Their  fields  were  also  neatly  fenced 
in  with  boughs,  a  practice  not  common  in  India,  but  here  I 
suppose  necessary  to  keep  off  the  deer  and  antelopes  from 
their  corn.  The  soil  is  poor  and  stony,  and  few  of  the  trees 
of  large  size.  There  is,  hov/ever,  a  better  supply  of  water 
than  I  expected,  none  of  the  nullahs  being  perfectly  dry,  even 
in  this  thirsty  year,  but  standing  in  pools,  as  Bruce  describes 
the  rivers  in  Abyssinia.  The  whole  country,  indeed,  and  what 
I  saw  of  the  people,  reminded  me  of  the  account  which  he  has 
given  of  the  Shangalla.  All  the  Bheels  whom  we  saw  to-day 
were  small  slender  men,  less  broad-shouldered,  I  think,  and 
with  faces  less  Celtic  than  the  Puliarrees  of  Rajmahal,  nor  did 
I  think  them  quite  so  dark  as  these  last.  They  were  not  so 
naked  as  the  two  whom  I  met  at  Ummeerghur,  having  a  coarse 
and  dirty  cotton  cloth  wrapped  round  the  head  and  shoulders 
and  a  sort  of  plaited  petticoat  round  their  loins,  of  the  same 
material.  Two  of  them  had  rude  sv/ords  and  shields,  the 
remainder  had  all  bows  and  arrows  resembling  those  which  I 
had  seen  before,  except  that  the  arrow-heads,  not  being  in- 
tended for  striking  fish,  were -fixed.  The  bow-strings  were 
very  neatly  made  of  bamboo  slips  plaited.  Their  beards  and 
hair  were  not  at  all  woolly,  but  thick  and  dishevelled,  and 
their  whole  appearance  very  dirty  and  ill-fed.  They  spoke 
cheerftilly,  however,  their  countenances  were  open,  and  the 
expression  of  their  eyes  and  lips  good  tempered.  Few  of  them 
appeared  to  know  any  thing  of  Hindoostanee. 

At  Chotee  Sirwan  no  supplies  were  to  be  obtained,  except 
water  from  a  nullah  at  some  distance,  and  boughs  for  the  ele- 
phants and  camels.  Some  tradesmen  from  the  Tannah  at  Nin- 
nore  had  brought  supplies  for  sale  sufficient  for  the  day,  but 
nothing  further^  and  I  was  again,  with  reluctance,  but  from 
sheer  necessity,  compelled  to  give  orders  for  continuing  our 
march  on  the  Sunday.  The  weather  was  extremely  hot  dur- 
ing the  greater  part  of  the  day,  but  this  is  obviously  among  the 
most  advantageous  months  for  passing  the  jungle.  The  long 
grass  is  now  burnt,  or  eaten  down  by  the  cattle, — the  marshes 
are  nearly  dry,' — and  those  prevailing' causes  of  disease  re- 


66  FESTIVAL  OF   HOOLEE. 

moved,  which,  at  other  times  of  the  year,  make  this  tract  no 
less  deadly  than  the  Terrai. — Even  the  tygers  are  less  formi- 
dable now  that  their  covert  is  so  much  diminished.  The  pro- 
spect, nevertheless,  is  dismal:  nobody  can  say 

"  Merry  it  is  in  the  good  g^een  wood!" 

The  rocks  seem  half  calcined,  the  ground  is  either  entirely 
bare  and  black,  or  covered  with  a  withered  rustling  grass;  the 
leaves  which  remain  on  the  trees  are  dry  and  sapless,  crack- 
ling in  the  hand  like  parchment;  and  the  bare  scorched  boughs 
of,  by  far,  the  greater  n.umber  give  a  wintry  appearance  to  the 
prospect,  which  is  strangely  contrasted  with  the  fierce  glow 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  a  sun  which  makes  the  blood  boil  and 
the  temples  throb.  A  great  proportion  of  the  trees  are  teak, 
but  all  of  small  size.  There  are  some  fine  peepuls,  which  re- 
tain their  leaves  in  the  moist  dingles  by  the  river  side,  and  the 
pink  blossom  of  the  dhak,  and  a  few  scattered  acacias,  the 
verdure  of  which  braves  even  the  blast  of  an  Arabian  desert, 
redeem  the  prospect  from  the  character  of  unmingled  barren- 
ness. Still  it  is  sufficiently  wild  and  dreary.  Abdullah  ob- 
served, and  I  was  struck  with  the  accuracy  of  the  comparison, 
that  the  huts,  the  form  of  the  hills,  and  the  general  appear- 
ance of  the  country  and  people,  greatly  resembled  the  borders 
of  Circassia  and  Georgia. 

This  being  the  great  day  of  Hoolee,  all  my  Hindoo  servants 
came  to  pay  their  compliments,  and  bring  presents  of  red  pow- 
der and  sugar-plums.  The  event  was  rather  costly  to  me,  as 
I  was  obliged  to  make  presents  in  return.  But  it  is  the  '^'dus- 
toor,"  and  who  in  India  can  transgress  that  unwritten  and 
common  law  of  the  land? 

Cashiram  and  the  servants  were  very  full  of  two  adventures 
which  had  befallen  them  in  their  night's  march.  The  first 
was,  that  they  heard  people  for  some  time  running  among  the 
bushes  near  them,  as  if  watching  to  seize  the  camels,  but  that 
on  one  man  looking  out  and  seeing  the  sepoys,  all  appeared  to 
take  flight. — The  other  was  that  a  very  large  tyger  crossed  the 
path  a  little  before  day -break,  so  near  that  they  could  not  have 
mistaken  any  other  animal  for  him,  particularly  as  the  moon 
shone  bright.  He  stopped  as  if  to  look  at  them  for  a  moment, 
and  then  passed  quietly,  or  as  they  said,  "civilly"  on,  as  if 
neither  courting  nor  fearing  an  encounter.  All  the  suwarrs 
were  very  full  of  the  change  which  had  taken  place  in  this 
countvy.  "Five  years  ago,"  one  of  them  said,  *'a  thousand 
men  could  hardly  have  forced  their  way  through  these  jungles 
and  their  inhabitants,  how  I  was  safe  with  sixty."  I  asked  if 
small  parties  were.safe.'^  and  they  answered  "by  no  means^'* 


BHEEL   BOWMAN.  67 

that  "  the  Bheels  were  as  great  robbers  and  murderers  as  ever 
where  thej  had  the  power,"  but  that  "they  were  very  much 
afraid  of  the  red  coats."  I  forgot  to  mention  before,  that,  on 
our  first  approaching  the  Bheel  villages,  a  man  ran  from  the 
nearest  hut  to  the  top  of  a  hill,  and  gave  a  shrill  shout  or 
scream  which  we  heard  repeated  from  the  furthest  hamlet  in 
sight,  and  again  from  two  others  which  we  could  not  see.  I 
asked  the  meaning  of  this,  and  my  suwarrs  assured  me  that 
these  were  their  signals  to  give  the  alarm  of  our  coming,  our 
numbers,  and  that  we  had  horse  with  us.  By  this  means  they 
knew  at  once  whether  it  was  adviseable  to  attack  us,  to  fly,  or 
to  remain  quiet,  while  if  there  were  any  of  them  of  their  num- 
ber who  had  particular  reasons  for  avoiding  an  interview  with 
the  troops  and  magistrates  of  the  low-lands,  they  had  thus  fair 
warning  given  them  to  keep  out  of  the  way.  This  sounds  like 
a  description  of  Rob  Roy's  country,  but  these  poor  Bheels  are 
far  less  formidable  enemies  than  the  old  Mac  Gregors.  In  the 
afternoon  we  walked  up  to  one  of  the  nearest  hills,  where 
were  some  huts  of  this  unfortunate  nation.  They  were  all 
shut  up,  and  an  old  man  who  came  to  meet  us,  said  that  they 
were  empty.  He  himself,  and  a  young  man,  who  was,  he  said, 
his  nephew,  remained  alone  in  the  places  all  the  rest  were  with 
their  cattle  in  the  jungle. 

Dr.  Smith,  who  has  an  excellent  ear,  and  knows  Hindoos- 
tanee  well,  was  able  to  converse  with  these  people  more  readily 
than  any  of  our  party,  and  said  that  it  was  chiefly  in  accent 
and  tone  th^.t  their  language  differed  from  the  dialect  usually 
spoken  in  Malwah.  They  speak  in  a  drawling  sort  of  recita- 
tive, which  Dr.  Smith  imitated,  and  found  them  catch  his 
meaning  much  better  than  they  othervvise  could.  The  old 
man  said. that  t'.iey  had  suffered  much  from  want  of  rain,  that 
their  crops  had  b  :en  very  scanty,  that  there  was  little  pasture 
left  for  their  cattle,  and  what  was  worst  of  all,  they  expected 
the  pools  of  the  neighbouring  nullah  to  dry  up  before  the  end 
of  the  hot  weather.  When  that  happened,  he  said  with  much 
resignation — "  they  must  go  down  to  Doongerpoor,  or  some 
other  place  where  there  was  water,  and  do  as  well  as  they 
could.*'  Both  the  men  vv^ere  evidently  in  fear,  and  even  trem- 
bled; they  showed  an  anxiety  that  we  should  not  go  near  their 
huts,  and  were  unwilling  to  trust  themselves  with  us  as  far  as 
our  tents,  though  they  |)erfectly  understood  my  promise  that 
they  should  have  something  to  eat.  I  pressed  the  young  man 
to  shoot  one  of  his  arrows  at  a  mark,  but  he  had  only  two  with 
him,  and  he  looked  at  us  all  round  as  if  he  feared  we  wanted 
to  make  him  part  with  his  means  of  defence.  I  succeeded, 
however,  in  re-assuring  him:  he  shot  at  and  hit,  a  tree  about 
100  yards  off,  and  on  my  praising  his  skill,  let  fly  his  other 

6* 


68  BANSWARRA* 

arrow,  which  went  straight  enough,  but  struck  the  ground  near 
the  root.  He  held  his  bow  and  arrow  in  the  English  manner, 
difterentlj  from  the  Hindoostanees,  who  place  the  arrow  on 
what  we  should  call  the  wrong  side,  and  draw  the  string  with 
the  thumb;  his  arrows  were  not  ill-made,  but  his  bow  was 
what  a  "  British  bowman"  would  call  a  very  light  one.  The 
applause  which  he  received,  and  the  security  which  he  now 
felt,  made  him  familiar.  He  sat  on  the  ground  to  show  us  the 
manner  in  which  his  countrymen  shoot  from  amid  the  long 
grass,  holding  the  bow  with  their  feet,  and  volunteered  aiming 
at  different  objects,  till  I  told  him  there  was  no  need  of  more 
trials;  I  asked  him  what  game  he  usually  killed,  but  appre- 
hend that  he  misunderstood  me,  for  he  said,  with  some  eager- 
ness of  manner,  '*  that  he  only  used  his  bow  in  self  defence." 
He  now  was  very  willing  to  come  to  our  camp,  and  his  uncle 
followed  him.  I  gave  them  three  anas  between  them,  for 
which  they  were  very  thankful.  One  of  the  suwarrs  told  me 
that  the  guide  in  the  morning  expressed  much  delight  and 
some  surprise  at  my  keeping  my  word  with  him,  in  giving 
him  the  promised  bukshish,  a  pretty  clear  proof  how  these 
poor  people  are  usually  dealt  with. 

The  police  thanna  consists  of  three  or  four  huts,  with  a  small 
stage  elevated  on  four  poles  for  a  sentry  to  stand  on,  so  like 
those  used  by  the  Cossacks  on  the  Circassian  frontier,  as  to  add 
greatly  to  the  resemblance  of  scenery  discovered  by  Abdullah. 
I  again,  in  the  course  of  the  evening,  longed  for  my  wife  to 
see  these  things  with  me;  and  though,  after  all,  this  is  a  coun- 
try into  which  it  is  not  likely  that  I  should  by  choice  take  her, 
yet  I  know  there  is  much  in  it  which  would  amuse  and  in- 
terest her. 

March  6. — We  proceeded  this  morning  about  seven  miles, 
through  a  very  wild  forest  of  rock,  wood,  dingles,  and  dry 
ravines  to  Panchelwas,  a  small  village  inhabited  by  a  mixed 
population  of  Bheels  and  Rajpoots,  and.  mder  the  government 
of  the  Ranah  of  Banswarra.  To  this  place  we  were  told  was 
a  direct  road  over  the  hills  from  Neemuch,  which  would  have 
saved  us  at  least  eight  miles,  and  which,  I  found  on  reference 
to  Sir  John  Malcolm's  work,  is  laid  .down  in  his  map  of  Central 
India.  It  is  so  rugged,  however,  and  so  infested  by  the  un- 
subdued tribes  of  Bheels,  that  few  travellers,  except  beggars 
and  pilgrims,  go  that  way.  The  houses  of  Panchelwas  are 
built  in  the  same  manner  with  those  of  the  Bheels,  but  are 
larger  and  neater;  and  there  were  one  or  two  shops,  and  the 
work-yard  of  a  wainwright,  which  showed  our  return  to  some- 
thing like  civilization.  The  carts  here  are  very  strong  and 
low.  The  wheels  have  no  spokes,  but  are  made  of  the  solid 
circles  of  the  stem  of  a  large  tree,  like  those  of  children's 


FEMALE  INFANTICIDE.  69 

carts  in  England.  They  have  no  axletrees  of  the  kind  used  in 
Europe,  but  the  wheels  are  placed  below  the  carriage,  and 
secured  like  those  of  wheelbarrows. 

The  country,  though  still  as  wild  as  wild  could  be,  had  im- 
proved both  in  greenness  and  beauty  during  this  morning's 
ride,  and,  on  the  other  side  of  Panchelwas,  became  extremely 
pretty.  We  crossed  a  river,  the  Mhye,  which,  notwithstanding 
its  distance  from  the  sea,  though  shallow,  was  still  broad,  antl 
not  stagnant,  with  rocks  on  each  side  crowned  with  wood  and 
some  ruined  temples,  while  the  liills  were  not  only  greener 
and  better  wooded  than  any  we  had  lately  seen,  but  assumed  a 
certain  degree  of  consequence  of  size  and  outline.  At  last,  our 
path  still  winding  through  the  wood,  but  under  the  shade  of 
taller  and  wider  spreading  trees,  and  over  a  soil  obviously  less 
burnt  and  barren,  we  came  to  a  beautiful  pool,  with  some 
ruined  temples,  and  a  stately  flight  of  steps  leading  to  it,  over- 
hung by  palms,  peepuls,  and  tamarinds;  and  beyond  it,  on  the 
crown  of  a  woody  hill,  the  towers  of  a  large  castle.  This  was 
the  palace  of  Banswarra,  and  on  advancing  a  little  further  the 
town  came  in  sight  at  its  foot,  with  its  pagodas,  ramparts,  and 
orchards. 

I  was  much  surprised  to  find  in  such  a  situation  so  large 
and  handsome  a  place,  of  which  I  knew  nothing  before,  except 
as  one  of  those  states  which  have  been  noted  in  India  for  the 
wildness  and  poverty  of  their  inhabitants,  and  for  their  abo- 
minable custom  of  murdering  the  greater  part  of  their  female 
infants,  this  cruel  and  most  unnatural  sacrifice  it  has  long 
been  the  endeavour  of  the  British  government  to  induce  its 
vassals  and  allies  to  abandon.  Major  Walker  when  resi- 
dent at  Baroda,  thought  he  had  succeeded  with  the  greater 
part  of  them,  but  it  is  believed  by  most  ofticers  on  this  side 
of  the  country  that  the  number  saved  was  very  small  in  pro- 
portion to  that  of  the  victims.  Unhappily  pride,  poverty,  and 
avarice  are  in  league  with  superstition  to  perpetuate  these 
horrors.  It  is  a  disgrace  fer  a  noble  family  to  have  a  daugh- 
ter unmarried,  and  still  worse  to  marry  her  to  a  person  of  in- 
ferior birth,  while  they  have  neither  the  means  nor  the  incli- 
nation to  pay  such  portions  as  a  person  of  their  own  rank 
would  expect  to  receive  with  them.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
sacrifice  of  a  child  is  believed,  surely  with  truth,  to  be  accept- 
able to  ''  the  evil  powers,"  and  the  fact  is  certain  that,  though 
the  high  born  Rajpoots  have  many  sons,  very  few  daughters 
are  ever  found  in  their  palaces,  though  it  is  not  easy  to  prove 
any  particular  instance  of  murder,  or  to  know  the  way  in 
which  the  victims  are  disposed  of.  The  common  story  of  the 
country,  and  probably  the  true  one,  for  it  is  a  point  on  which, 
except  with  the  English,  no.mystery  is  likely  to  be  observed, 


70  BANSWARRA. 

is  that  a  large  vessel  of  milk  is  set  in  the  chamber  of  the  lying- 
in  woman,  and  the  infant,  if  a  girl,  iiiimediatelj  plunged  into 
it.  Sir  John  Malcolm,  however,  who  supposes  the  practice 
to  be  on  the  decline,  was  told  that  a  pill  of  opium  was  usually 
given.  Through  the  influence  of  Major  Walker  it  is  certain 
that  many  children  were  spared,  and  previous  to  his  depar- 
ture from  Guzerat,  he  received  the  most  affecting  compliment 
which  a  good  man  could  receive,  in  being  welcomed  at  the 
gate  of  the  palace,  on  some  public  occasion,  by  a  procession 
of  girls  of  high  rank,  wlio  owed  their  lives  to  him,  and  who 
came  to  kiss  his  clothes  and  throw  wreaths  of  flowers  over  him 
as  their  deliverer  and  second  father.  Since  that  time,  how- 
ever, things  have  gone  on  very  much  in  the  old  train,  and  the 
answers  made  by  the  chiefs  to  any  remonstrances  of  the  Bri- 
tish officers  is,  "  Pay  our  daughters'  marriage  portion  and  they 
shall  live!"  Yet  these  very  men,  rather  than  strike  a  cow 
would  submit  to  the  crudest  martyrdom.  Never  may  my  dear 
wife  and  daughters  forget  how  much  their  sex  is  indebted  to 
Christianity! 

The  walls  of  Banswarra  include  a  large  circuit,  as  much,  I 
should  think  as  those  of  Chester;  but  in  the  one,  as  well  as 
the  other  instance,  a  good  deal  of  space  is  taken  up  with  gar- 
dens. There  are  some  handsome  temples  and  an  extensive 
bazar  in  which  I  saw  a  considerable  number  of  Mussulmans. 
We  took  up  our  abode  without  the  walls  in  a  little  old  palace, 
with  a  pretty  garden  and  a  large  cistern  of  water,  now  dry, 
which  has  been  appropriated  by  the  Rawul  to  the  use  of  Cap- 
tain Macdonald.  From  this  house  is  an  advantageous  view 
of  the  city  and  palace,  the  trees  are  finer,  and  the  view  more 
luxuriant  than  any  thing,  Gungrowr  always  excepted,  which 
we  have  seen  since  bur  leaving  Bhurtpoor. 

The  Rawul  came  to  call  on  me  in  the  afternoon  with  his 
Khamdar,  and  a  considerable  train  of  vassals,  whom  he  pre- 
sented to  me  as  a  highland  chief  would  have  done  the  gentle- 
men of  his  clan,  and  describing  them  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Thakoors  of  his  house.  They  were  mostly  good  looking  stout 
men,  of  a  rustic  but  manly  figure.  The  Rawul  himself  is  a 
small,  thin,  and  effeminate  young  man,  of  no  prepossessing 
appearance.  He  was  plainly  dressed,  except  that  he  had  a 
very  handsome  sword,  a  most  voluminous  red  turban,  and 
great  gold  anklets.  His  minister  was  a  thin  shrewd  looking 
person,  with  a  very  squeaking  voice,  a  turban,  as  was  fitting, 
of  inferior  dignity  to  his  master's,  but  with  large  pearls  in  his 
ears.  I  embraced  the  Rawul  and  his  minister,  and  assigned 
them  chairs  on  my  right  and  left  hand.  The  Thakoors  all  sat 
down  on  the  floor  with  their  shields  before  them  in  the  Raj- 
poot fashion,  and  a  crowd  of  servants  and  people  of  all  de- 


RAWUL  OF  BANSWARRA.  71 

scriptions,  among  whom,  in  order  to  do  me  honour,  nearly  half 
of  the  sepoy§  of  my  escort  pressed,  formed  a  semicircle  of 
standers  by  behind  them.  Abdullah  acted,  as  usual,  as  mas- 
ter of  the  ceremonies  and  interpreter,  neither  Dr.  Smith  nor  I 
being  versed  in  the  technical  and  complimentary  language  of 
a  court.  At  length,  however,  the  conversation  became  more 
general,  and  they  expressed  much  curiosity  concerning  the 
war  in  Ava.  They  had  heard  of  Sir  A.  Campbell's  success, 
and  the  capture  of  300  pieces  of  cannon,  but  were  anxious  to 
learn  the  further  progress  of  the  campaign.  I  talked  to  them 
about  Sir  John  Malcolm,  of  whom  they  spoke  with  great  re- 
spect and  apparent  regard,  and  expressed  great  joy  on  hearing 
that  he  was  like  again  to  come  out  to  India.  They  conversed 
readily  enough,  more  so  than  I  had  expected,  about  Doongur- 
poor  and  its  war,  though,  as  the  Rawul  said  in  answer  to  my 
question,  if  it  was  not  so.^  that  its  Raja  was  his  kinsman. 
"And  Oodeypoor  also.^"  said  I.  His  countenance  evidently 
brightened  as  he  answered  in  the  affirmative,  as  if  he  derived 
consequence  in  his  own  opinion  and  that  of  others,  by  his  re- 
lationship to  so  illustrious  a  house. 

I  now  thought  the  visit  had  been  long  enough,  and  ordered 
pawn  and  attar  to  be  brought.  To  my  surprise,  however,  the 
Rawul  kept  his  seat,  called  for  his  "  kalean,"  or  Persian  pipe, 
smoked  some  whifs,  and  then  began  talking  again.  A  long 
whispering  conversation  ensued  between  him  and  his  minister, 
and  while  I  was  wondering  in  what  all  this  would  end,  he 
begged  my  acceptance  of  a  horse,  which  he  said  he  had  brought 
for  me.  I  was  a  good  deal  annoyed,  but  endeavoured  to 
parry  the  offer  as  well  as  I  could.  I  first  pleaded  that  such 
things  were  unnecessary  where  there  was  good  will,  and 
that  I  valued  the  almonds  and  sugar-plumbs  which  he  had  pre- 
sented on  first  entering  the  room,  as  his  gift,  as  much  as  an 
elephant  coming  from  a  person  of  less  distinguished  family. 
He  bowed  and  smiled,  but  said,  "  If  you  refuse  the  horse, 
how  can  I  believe  you  like  to  receive  a  smaller  present.^"  I 
then  said  I  should  accept  the  horse  with  gratitude,  and  should 
be  much  obliged  to  the  Raja  to  keep  it  forme  till  I  returned 
that  way,  since  in  my  journey  between  Bombay  and  Calcutta, 
I  should  go  by  sea,  and  be  unable  to  take  it  with  me.  "  Oh," 
said  the  Raja,  "  w^hen  you  return  I  shall  have  more  and  finer 
horses  for  you,  but  you  must  not  refuse  to  take  this  now."  In 
short  I  was  obliged  to  yield,  anel  the  horse  was  brought,  a  to- 
lerable grey  poney,  but  old  and  not  in  the  best  condition, 
though  quite  as  good  as  one  generally  meets  among  the  Raj- 
poot nobles.  He  now  took  leave,  and  I  accompanied  him  to- 
the  gate,  the  sepoys  presenting  arms,  which  seemed  to  please 
him  much.     Knowing  however,  the  poverty,  as  well  as  the 


72  RAWUL  OF    BANSWARRA. 

antiquity  of  his  family,  I  could  no  bear  the  idea  of  taking  the 
horse  without  making;  a  return,  and  after  some  deliberation, 
for  it  was  not  easy  to  find  any  thing  I  could  spare  which  he 
would  like,  I  sent  him  the  glass  lamp  which  used  to  hang  in 
our  cabin  on  board  ship,  both  as  a  pretty  thing  in  itself,  and 
one  which  he  had  unquestionably  never  seen  before,  at  the 
same  time  that  it  accorded  with  the  habits  of  his  nation,  who 
all  burn  lamps  at  night.  I  sent  it  by  my  servants,  with  an  apo- 
logy for  my  not  returning  his  visit  from  my  anxiety  to  proceed 
on  my  journey.  He  returned  a  very  civil  message,  and  if  I 
am  to  believe  the  report  of  my  messengers,  was  well  pleased 
with  my  present.  Its  intrinsic  value  I  should  guess,  was  fully 
equal  to  that  which  I  had  received  from  him. 

The  Rawul  said  his  age  was  just  twenty-on6,  and  he  had 
been  on  the  musnud  since  the  year  1816.  Both  he  and  his 
minister  spoke  much  of  the  oppression  and  cruelty  formerly 
exercised  on  them  by  the  Maharattas  and  Pindarrees.  They 
said  that  ours  was  a  good  government  for  peace,  and  putting 
down  thieves,  but  complained  of  the  opium  laws,  and  asked 
where  all  the  opium  went  which  was  monopolized.  They 
listened  with  much  attention  to  Dr.  Smith's  account  of  the 
Empire  of  China,  and  the  quantity  of  opium  which  was  con- 
sumed there,  but  were  still  more  interested  on  his  telling 
them  that  on  my  voyage  from  Bombay  to  Calcutta,  I  must 
pass  by  Lanca,  (the  name  given  to  Ceylon  in  the  Hindoo 
books,  and  respecting  whicli  they  have  many  extravagant  le- 
gends.) They  would  scarcely  believe  him  when  he  said  that 
it  was  now  under  the  British  government,  and  that  he  had  been 
there,  and  asked  eagerly  "  if  the  principal  city  was  surround- 
ed by  a  wall  of  solid  gold.^^"  He  answered  that  this  was  an  old 
tradition,  but  that  they  themselves  knew  that  many  things 
mentioned  in  old  books  had  not  their  like  on  earth  now;  that 
Lanca  was  still  a  rich  countrv,  but  not  so  fine  as  it  had  been 
represented,  which  seemed  to  satisfy  them. 

In  the  afternoon  Dr.  Smith  strolled  out  by  himself,  and 
had  some  conversation  with  a  few  old  men  whom  he  found 
under  the  shade  of  a  tree.  They  seemed  well  satisfied  with 
the  present  peaceable  times,  and  answered  his  questions  very 
readily  about  the  internal  politics  of  the  country.  The  Kham- 
dar,  they  said,  was  a  Jain,  and  seemed  to  hold  him  cheap  ac- 
cordingly: with  the  Rawul  they  did  not  seem  well  pleased. 
He  was  twenty-one,  they  said,  and  yet  not  married,  a  circum- 
stance always  discreditable  among  the  Hindoos,  but  here  par- 
ticularly so  where  it  is  a  matter  of  much  difficulty  for  girls  of 
high  blood  to  obtain  suitable  matches.  We  were  objects  of 
great  curiosity  in  this  place.  A  crowd  was  assembled  all  day 
before  my  gate,  observing  every  movement  within,  and  whea 


BURODEEA.  73 

I  walked  iia  the  evening  I  had  as  great  a  crowd  after  me  as  I 
have  seen  after  a  Persian  ambassador,  or  other  such  outland- 
ish person,  in  the  streets  of  London. 

During  all  the  time  of  Hoolee,  drunl^enness  is  common 
among  the  Hindoos,  and  our  bearers  had  been  for  some  days 
giving  proof  of  it.  To-night,  however,  they  were  so  noisy 
after  I  was  in  bed,  that  I  sent  Abdullah  to  scold  them.  He 
brought  back  word  that  there  was  a  dispute  between  them  and 
some  biinyans  of  the  town  about  payment.  On  this  I  ordered 
all  parties  to  my  bed-side  in  order  to  judge  between  them,  but 
by  the  way  the  adversaries  agreed  between  themselves,  and  I 
heard  no  more  of  it. 

March  7. — We  went  between  eleven  and  twelve  miles 
through  a  wild  but  pretty  country,  to  a  small  village  named 
Burodeea.  We  were  guided  by  Bheels,  and  most  of  the  peo- 
ple we  met  were  of  that  nation,  though  the  villagers  themselves 
were  Rajpoots..  Supplies  were  scanty  and  obtained  with  some 
difficulty  from  five  or  six  neighbouring  hamlets.  The  place 
contains  at  present  twenty-five  families;  it  v/as,  twenty  years 
ago,  a  moderate-sized  town,  but  was  ruined  by  Ram  Deen, 
one  of  the  followers  of  Jeswunt  Row  Holkar,  and  among  the 
worst  of  the  many  bad.  He  is  now  a  pensioner  of  the  British 
government,  having  surrendered  to  them  early  in  the  last  war, 
and  is  living  in  retirement  in  Hindostan. 

I  was  told  that  no  charge  would  be  made  for  the  wood, 
milk,  and  grass  which  had  been  furnished,  and  which  were  all 
the  supplies  which  we  required.  I  gave,  however,  a  rupee  to 
the  Zemindar,  or  Potail,  a  very  fine  young  peasant,  but  who 
could  scarcely  speak  a  word  of  Hindoostanee.  We  walked 
in  the  evening  through  some  small  patches  of  cultivation,  with 
jungle  all  round,  and  a  pleasing  prospect  of  high  woody  hills; 
there  were  a  great  many  mhowah-trees,  not  yet  in  blossom, 
though  they  would  be  so,  we  were  told,  in  a  fortnight  or  three 
weeks.  They  nearly  resemble  the  oak  in  size,  form  of  the 
branches,  and  colour  of  the  leaves.  Of  the  mhowah  and  its 
uses  a.  good  account  is  given  in  Sir  John  Malcolm's  Central 
India.  Its  flower,  besides  the  intoxicating  liquor  obtained 
from  it  by  fermentation,  when  dried,  nearly  resembles  a  small 
raisin  both  in  appearance  and  flavour.  Its  fruit,  and  the 
small  pistachio  nut  which  grows  wild  among  these  hills  in 
great  abundance,  are  the  principal  food  of  the  wilder  tribes  of 
Bheels.  The  latter  are  said  to  be  deleterious  till  roasted,  or  at 
all  events  they  contain  an  oil  so  astringent  as  not  to  be  eatable. 

March  8. — A  romantic  road  through  a  wood  containing 
many  fine  trees,  and  displaying  a  reasonable  show  of  verdure, 
brought  us,  about  seven  miles,  to  a  small  but  well-built  vil- 
lage named  Kalingera.     A  majority  o£  the  houses  which  we 


74  KALINGERA JAIN  TEMPLE. 

had  seen  in  the  territory  of  Banswarra,  (I  mean  tlie  Rajpoot 
houses,  for  the  Bheel  huts  are  wretched  enough,)  are  extreme- 
ly well-built  and  respectable,  of  large  bricks,  frequently  two 
stories  high,  and,  with  their  out-buildings,  and  in  their  gene- 
ral style,  possessing  much  of  the  exterior  of  an  English  farm. 
Kalingera  has  also  a  sort  of  manor-house,  not  unlike  some  of 
the  dismal-looking  Zemindarree  houses  near  Barrackpoor,  the 
residence  of  aThakoor,  the  hereditary  chief  of  this  place  and 
a  small  district  round  it.  Its  most  remarkable  building,  how- 
ever, is  a  Jain  temple,  the  largest  and  handsomest  which  I 
had  yet  seen,  and  which,  being  completely  deserted,  I  had  a 
tolerable  opportunity  to  explore  throughout.  The  entrance  is 
under  a  sort  of  projecting  porch  by  a  flight  of  steps  conduct- 
ing to  an  open  vestibule,  supported  by  pillars,  and  covered  by 
a  dome.  On  each  side  of  the  entrance  are  some  more  steps, 
leading  to  an  open  verandah  over  the  porch.  To  the  right  of 
the  vestibule  just  mentioned  is  a  small  court,  to  its  left  a 
square  hall,  supported  by  pillars  internally,  and  roofed  with 
flat  slabs  of  stone,  laid  across  stone  beams  of  unusual  length, 
being  twelve  feet  from  pillar  to  pillar.  Beyond  the  vestibule 
and  facing  the  entrance,  I  passed  by  an  ascent  of  three  steps 
into  another  square  hall,  also  with  aflat  roof,  but  dift'ering  from 
the  last  as  being  open  on  the  sides,  and  having  a  square  plat- 
form, I  apprehend  intended  for  an  altar,  in  the  midst.  To 
the  right  and  left  of  this  hall  were  others  of  the  same  size,  but 
covered  with  domes ;  and  beyond  these,  to  the  extreme  right 
and  left,  were  sanctuaries  of  about  twelve  feet  square,  sur- 
mounted by  high  ornamented  pyramids,  v/ith  their  door-places 
richly  carved,  and  having,  within,  small  altars  like  those  in 
Roman  Catholic  churches,  vv'ith  vestiges  of  paintingabove  them. 
In  the  centre,  and  immediately  opposite  to  the  entrance,  a 
dark  vestibule  led  into  a  large  square  room  also  covered  ex- 
ternally with  a  pyramid,  and  having  within,  in  the  middle,  a 
sort  of  altar  or  throne  of  marble,  on  which  were  placed  four 
idols  in  a  sitting  posture,  also  of  marble  and  not  ill  carved. 
On  either  side  of  this  apartment  was  a  richly  carved  niche  or 
small  alcove,  and  beyond  it,  and  still  opposite  to  the  entrance, 
another  small  vestibule  led  to  an  inner  shrine  about  twelve  feet 
square,  also  covered  with  a  pyramid,  having  an  altar  at  its 
farthest  end,  and  a  bas  relief  of  Parisanth,  surrounded  by 
several  smaller  sitting  figures,  over  it. — The  details  of  this 
lOom,  however,  I  only  saw  imperfectly.  It  had  no  light  but 
what  came  through  its  door  after  traversing  all  the  preceding 
apartments.  It  was  very  close  and  noisome,  being  full  of  bats 
which  kept  flapping  against  my  face,  and  whose  dung  covered 
the  floor  of  both  rooms.  Though  the  Thannadar  of  the  village 
very  civilly  brought  me  paper,  pen,  and  ink,  he  had  no  tor- 


JAIN    TEMPLE.  75 

ches,  and  without  them  it  was  neither  pleasant  nor  profitable 
to  remain  long  in  such  a  place,  in  a  country  where  it  was  sure 
to  be  a  harbour  for  all  unclean  and  noxious  animals.  I  could, 
however,  by  the  light  which  1  had,  see  enough  to  satisfy  me 
that  the  arrangement  of  the  figures  was  pretty  similar  to  that 
which  I  had  seen  in  the  Jain  temple  at  Benares. 

From  the  dome-roofed  apartments  to  the  right  and  left  of 
the  hall  which  has  the  altar  in  it,  a  double  verandah  extends, 
surrounding  a  court  in  which  the  two  sanctuaries  which  I  have 
just  described  are  enclosed ;  the  verandah  to  the  court  being 
open  and  supported  by  pillars.  The  exterior  of  one  has  no 
opening  to  the  country,  but  internally  has  a  number  of  narrow 
doors  corresponding  with  the  intercolumniations  of  the  other. 
It  is  also  surmounted  externally  by  a  succession  of  small  pyra- 
mids, and  on  its  western  side  and  immediately  behind  the  cen- 
tral sanctuary,  is  another  chapel  of  the  same  kind  with  this 
last,  covered  with  a  similar  pyramid,  and  approached  by  a 
very  elegant  portico  or  vestibule  of  a  square  form,  supported 
by  six  pillars  and  as  many  pilasters. 

In  the  further  shrine  is  an  altar,  and  a  large  painting  over 
it,  much  defaced,  of  a  colossal  head  with  a  beard  and  flowing 
locks,  and  so  far  as  can  be  judged,  a  very  venerable  expres- 
sion of  countenance.  This,  as  well  as  I  can  recollect,  is  dif- 
ferent from  any  thing  which  I  saw  at  Benares,  and  may  per- 
haps belong  to  some  mystery  which  they  did  not  think  fit  to 
disclose  to  persons  of  a  difterent  religion.  The  interior  of  the 
apartments  had  but  little  ornament  except  the  images  and  bas 
reliefs  which  I  have  mentioned  ;  the  exterior  is  richly  carved, 
and  the  pyramids,  more  particularly,  were  formed  in  clusters 
of  little  canopies,  as  usual  in  the  Hindoo  buildings  of  these 
provinces,  but  more  elaborately  wrought  than  is  often  seen. 
On  each  side  of  the  doors  of  the  different  small  sanctuaries  are 
figures  of  men  with  large  staves  in  their  hands,  naked  except 
a  cloth  round  the  waist,  with  very  bushy  hair,  and  a  high 
cylindrical  cap,  such  as  is  not  now  worn  in  India,  but  which 
exactly  resembles  that  seen  on  the  ancient  figures  at  Perse- 
polis  and  elsewhere  in  Persia.  The  similarity  was  so  striking 
that  Abdullah  of  his  own  accord  pointed  out  one  of  these  head- 
dresses as  like  that  on  the  monument  of  JumsheedJum,  and 
the  prints  which  I  have  seen  prove  his  recollection  to  be  accu- 
rate. The  domes  are  admirably  constructed,  and  the  execu 
tion  of  the  whole  building  greatly  superior  to  what  I  should 
have  expected  to  find  in  such  a  situation.  Its  splendour  of 
architecture,  and  its  present  deserted  condition,  were  account- 
ed for  by  the  Thannadar  from  the  fact,  that  Kalingera  had 
been  a  place  of  much  traffic  and  the  residence  of  many  rich 
traders  of  the  Jain  sect,  who  were  all  ruined  or  driven  away 

Vol.    II.— 7 


76  TAMBRESRA, 

bj  the  Maharattas,  at  whose  door,  indeed,  all  the  misfortunes 
ot"  this  country  are,  with  apparent  reason,  laid. 

The  antiquity  of  the  building  I  had  no  means  of  ascertain- 
ing. It  is  in  too  good  repair  for  me  to  think  it  very  old,  and 
there  are  no  inscriptions  on  its  conspicuous  parts,'  a  Nagree 
date  (1103)  is  visible  on  one  of  the  stones  in  the  pavement  of 
the  interior  verandah,  near  the  south-west  corner,  but  I  know 
not  from  what  era  this  is  reckoned,  and  the  stone,  from  its 
situation,  is  not  likely  to  have  been  selected  to  receive  the 
date  of  the  building.  It  may  have  been  removed  from  some 
other  edifice. 

From  Kalingera  is  about  seven  miles  more  of  jungle  to  Tam- 
bresra,  a  village  near  which  our  tents  were  pitched  under  the 
shade  of  some  fine  trees,  and  near  a  cistern  which  still  con- 
tained a  little  water.  The  situation  was  very  beautiful,  but 
made  less  agreeable  than  it  might  have  been  by  an  unlucky 
accident.  Our  little  flock  of  sheep  and  goats  were  resting 
after  their  march  under  a  spreading  tree,  when  a  monkey, 
who  had  come  down  to  steal  the  shepherd's  breakfast,  and 
was  driven  back  by  him,  in  his  hurried  flight  among  the 
branches  stumbled  on  a  bee's  nest  which  hung  suspended  in 
the  air,  and  not  only  got  himselt  well  stung,  but  brought  out 
the  whole  swarm  in  fury  against  the  poor  unoffending  animals 
beneath.  Most  of  them  were  severely  stung  and  bleated  pi- 
tifully, but  it  was  curious  to  observe  the  different  conduct 
between  the  sheep  and  the  goats.  The  former  crowded  all 
together,  burying  their  noses  in  the  sand,  but  with  no  appa- 
rent notion  of  flight  or  resistance,  the  latter  ran  off  as  fast  as 
they  could  for  shelter  among  our  tents,  pressing  in  for  secu- 
rity as  so  many  dogs  would  have  done.  They  brought,  how- 
ever, such  a  swarm  of  their  pursuers  adhering  to  their  coats 
and  following  them  close,  that  their  coming  was  very  little  to 
be  desired,  and  we  were  forced  to  refuse  them  the  hospitality 
which  they  would  otherwise  have  received.  Indeed,  as  it  was, 
my  tent  was  filled  for  a  short  time  with  bees,  and  several  of 
the  people  were  stung.  We  had  good  reason,  however,  to 
be  thankful  that  they  were  the  sheep  and  goats  which  were 
attacked  and  not  the  horses;  had  the  latter  been  the  case,  the 
consequence  might  have  been  very  serious.  From  what  I  saw 
on  this  occasion  I  do  not  think  the  sting  of  the  common  In- 
dian bee  so  severe  as  that  of  the  European. 

In  the  afternoon  the  Thakoor  of  the  district,  who  assumes 
the  title  of  Raja,  came  to  see  me.  His  residence  is  atKishul- 
gur,  a  little  town  about  three  coss  from  hence,  and  he  has  a 
very  small  and  poor  territory  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  villages^ 
his  name  is  Gumbeer  Singh,  a  strongly  built  and  handsome 
young  man,  though  not  tall,  and  with  one  of  the  most  prepos- 


TAMBRESRA.  77 

sessing  countenances  I  have  seen  for  some  time.  He  was  a 
mere  rustic,  however,  and  had  the  further  disadvantage  of  au 
impediment  in  his  speech,  a  consciousness  of  which,  appa- 
rently, made  him  confused  and  diffident.  His  dress  w^as 
plain,  and  his  shield,  sword,  and  large  turban  his  only  finery. 
He  was  attended  by  fifteen  or  twenty  armed  men,  all  on  foot. 
I  gave  him  a  chair,  pawn,  and  attar,  and  he  in  return  would 
not  allow  his  people  to  receive  any  thing  for  a  kid  and  some 
milk  which  they  had  furnished,  the  value  of  which  indeed  was 
not  equal  to  half  a  rupee. 

Grain,  which  at  Banswarra  had  been  sixteen  seers  the 
rupee,  was  here  nineteen,  which  I  hoped,  indicated  that 
things  were  not  so  very  bad  in  Guzerat  as  I  had  understood, 
since  on  the  immediate  border  there  was  no  deterioration. 
The  Thakoor,  however,  said  that  there  was  great  dearth  there, 
but  that  none  of  the  people  had,  as  yet,  come  to  seek  refuge 
in  this  country. 

During  the  years  of  trouble,  Malwah  (except  in  tke  neigh- 
bourhood of  fortified  towns  and  among  tlie  most  inaccessible 
mountains)  was  entirely  depopulated.  All  the  villagers  here- 
abouts had  emigrated  chiefly  into  Berar,  Candeish,  and  the 
Deckan,  and  some  had  become  servants  and  camp-followers 
to  the  British  army,  till,  within  the  last  three  or  four  years, 
they  returned  each  man  to  his  inheritance  on  hearing  that 
they  might  do  so  in  safety.  Several  instances  of  this  kind, 
and  of  the  inviolable  respect  paid  in  this  part  of  India  to  the 
rights  of  the  poorest  freeholders  thus  returning,  are  mention- 
ed by  Sir  John  Malcolm. 

We  walked  in  the  evening  about  the  village,  the  situation 
of  which  is  beautiful;  its  inhabitants  consist  of  Bheels  and  low 
caste  Rajpoots,  who  have  a  still  for  arrack,  at  which  several 
of  the  encampment,  unfortunately,  drank  but  too  freely.  On 
the  hill  above  were  some  noble  mhowah  trees,  and  under  their 
shade  some  scattered  Bheel  huts,  neater  and  better  than  any 
which  I  had  seen.  Each  was  built  of  bamboos  wattled  so  as 
to  resemble  a  basket;  they  had  roofs  with  very  projecting 
eaves,  thatched  with  grass  and  very  neatly  lined  with  the 
large  leaves  of  the  teak-tree.  The  upper  part  of  each  gable 
end  was  open  for  the  smoke  to  pass  out.  The  door  was  wat- 
tled and  fastened  with  a  bamboo  plait  and  hinges,  exactly 
like  the  lid  of  a  basket,  and  the  building  was  enclosed  with 
a  fence  of  tall  bamboo  poles,  stuck  about  an  inch  apart,  con- 
nected with  cross  pieces  of  the  same,  and  with  several  plants 
of  the  everlasting-pea  trailed  over  it.  Within  this  fence  was 
a  small  stage  elevated  on  four  poles  about  seven  feet  from  the 
ground,  and  covered  with  a  low  thatched  roof.  My  people 
said  this  was  to  sleep  upon  as  a  security  from  wild  beasts. 


78  POLICE  OF  MALWAH. 

but  I  have  no  idea  they  could  be  in  any  danger  from  them  with- 
in a  bamboo  fence  and  in  a  house  of  the  same  material,  since 
it  is  well  known  that  the  tyger,  from  apprehension  of  snares, 
will  hardly  ever  come  near  this  sort  of  enclosure.  It  might 
be  used  as  a  sleeping  place  for  the  sake  of  coolness  or  dry- 
ness, but  as  each  of  these  houses  seemed  to  stand  in  the  cen- 
tre of  its  own  little  patch  of  Indian  corn,  I  should  rather  ap- 
prehend it  was  intended  as  a  post  to  watch  it  from. 

One  of  the  Allahabad  bearers  who  had  been  drunk  at  Bans- 
warra  on  Sunday  evening  had  not  yet  joined  us,  and  his  com- 
panions expressed  considerable  uneasiness  about  him.  They 
did  not  apprehend  that  he  had  as  yet  come  to  any  harm,  but 
he  was,  they  said,  pennyless,  and  without  his  clothes  in  a 
strange  and  far  distant  country.  They  thought  he  was  proba- 
bly deterred  from  following  us  either  by  fear  of  my  displea- 
sure, or  by  a  dread  of  passing  the  woods  alone,  and  begged 
me  to  make  use  of  my  ''  great  name"  to  procure,  as  the  best 
thing  which  could  befal  him,  his  being  seized  by  the  police, 
and  brought  to  me  as  a  prisoner.  This  was  precisely  what  I 
thought  of  doing,  so  that  I  was  not  sorry  to  close  with  their 
intreaties,  as,  in  fact,  his  absence  was  by  no  means  convenient 
to  me.  I  sent,  therefore,  a  description  of  the  man  to  the  cut" 
wal  of  Banswarra  by  four  of  the  police  sepoys,  who  are  sta- 
tioned at  different  thannas  for  the  protection  of  the  road,  and 
who  nearly  resemble  the  sword  and  shield-men  whom  we  see 
round  Calcutta,  except  that  the  police  of  Malwah  have  also 
matchlocks.  These  men  had,  at  first,  frequent  affairs  with 
the  Bheels,  and  it  was  often  necessary  to  call  in  the  aid  of  re- 
gular troops.  At  Cheeta  Talao,  which  is  the  frontier  post  of 
Guzerat,  four  years  ago,  a  sharp  engagement  took  place  be- 
tween 50  horse  and  100  infantry  under  the  orders  of  Mr. 
Wellesley,  and  a  large  body  of  Bheels,  in  which  seven  horses 
and  five  men  were  killed  by  arrow-shots.  At  present  matters 
go  on  smoothly  in  this  neighbourhood,  but  last  year  Captain 
Cobbe  had  a  long  and  bloody  campaign  in  the  mountains  south 
of  Oodeypoor,  in  which  many  lives  were  lost  on  both  sides, 
but  which  ended  in  the  miserable  Bheels  having  their  fields 
wasted,  their  villages  burnt,  and  so  many  of  their  people  de- 
stroyed by  famine  that  they  were  supposed  to  be  completely 
tamed.  Captain  Cobbe  sent,  therefore,  a  Chobdar  with  offers 
of  mercy;  but  so  desperate  had  these  wretched  tribes  become, 
and  so  bitter  was  their  hatred  of  their  persecutors,  that  they 
cut  oft'  the  messenger's  head,  and  fixed  it  on  a  bamboo,  where 
the  advancing  party  found  it  the  next  morning,  the  perpetra- 
tors of  the  deed  having  fled  still  further  into  the  hills,  where 
it  was  next  to  impossible  for  the  lowland  troops  to  pursue 
them.  Since  then  it  is  said  that  Captain  Cobbe  has  succeeded 


THE    RIVER    ANASS CHEETA    TALAO.  79 

in  engaging  one  tribe  of  Bheels  to  fight  against  their  country- 
men, but  the  result  of  this  measure  I  have  not  heard,  nor  can 
I  help  thinking  that  a  conciliatory  policy  has  not  yet  been  suf- 
ficiently tried,  and  that  it  is  likely  to  answer  better  with  these 
poor  savages  than  mere  severity. 

March  9. — A  march  of  fourteen  miles  through  a  thick  fo- 
rest, only  interrupted  by  a  few  patches  of  corn  round  a  Bheel 
hamlet,  with  a  thanna,  named  Doonga,  about  half-way,  brought 
us  to  the  rocky  and  beautiful  banks  of  the  river  Anass,  the 
bed  of  which  is  as  broad  as  the  Dee  at  Bangor,  but  which  was 
now  standing  in  pools,  with  every  prospect  of  being  quite  dry 
before  the  present  hot  season  is  over.  We  here  left  Malwah 
and  entered  Guzerat.  On  the  Guzerat  side  of  the  river  is  a 
police  thanna  of  two  thatched  huts,  with  an  elevated  stage  for 
a  sentry,  and.  the  whole  surmounted  by  a  high  fence  of  bamboo 
poles,  after  the  manner  of  the  Bheels.  A  little  to  the  north 
of  this,  and  near  the  confluence  of  the  Anass  and  another  con- 
siderable torrent  named  the  Mhysree,  our  tents  were  pitched 
in  a  situation  which  only  wanted  more  water  to  make  it  the 
loveliest,  as  it  was  the  wildest  and  most  romantic,  which  I 
had  seen  since  I  left  Kemaoon.  The  spot  of  our  encampment 
was  considerably  elevated,  and  presented  a  small  irregular 
lawn  dotted  with  noble  trees  of  the  peepul,  mhowah,  and  toon 
species:  beneath  us,  on  two  sides,  was  a  rocky  bank  with 
brushwood,  below  this  the  two  rivers,  now,  alas!  hardly  de- 
serving the  name,  but,  with  their  rocky  and  uneven  beds,  in- 
tersecting and  bordering  the  clear  black  pools  which  yet  re- 
mained in  deeper  and  more  shady  spots j  and,  beyond  them, 
hills,  rocky  and  covered  with  wood,  an  apparently  trackless 
and  boundless  wilderness  so  far  as  the  eye  could  follow  it.  In 
seasons  less  thirsty  than  the  present  this  would  have  been  a 
delightful  spot.  As  it  is  we  were  fortunate  in  not  being  a  week 
later,  since,  on  asking  about  our  farther  route,  I  found  that  it 
was  necessary  to  alter  our  destined  halting-places  in  many  in- 
stances from  absolute  want  of  water,  and  six  or  seven  days 
later  a  caravan  like  ours  would  have  been  reduced  to  great 
tlistress,  and  probably  obliged  either  to  make  marches  which 
would  have  materially  harassed  the  cattle,  or  to  return  by  the 
way  it  came,  at  the  risk  of  losing  them  all. 

"Cheeta  Talao,"  the  name  of  this  place,  means  Leopard's 
rock,  but  we  neither  saw  nor  heard  of  any  ferocious  animal. 
Animals  of  all  kinds,  indeed,  seem  strangely  scarce  in  these 
woods.  Had  there  been  many  tygers  we  must,  in  all  proba- 
bility, have  seen  them  or  heard  their  growls,  travelling  so 
much  as  we  have  done  before  day -break,  and  pitching  the  tents 
in  such  wild  and  woody  places.  Nor  liave  we  seen  any  deer,  or 
game  of  any  description.     The  tyger,  it  is  well  known,  re- 

7* 


80  CHEETA  TALAO* 

quires  a  great  deal  of  water,  and  is  generally  found  in  Its 
neighbourhood;  but  the  pools  and  cool  reeds  which  yet  remain 
in  the  Anass  are  sufiicient,  I  should  have  supposed,  to  answer 
his  wants.  I  am  led  therefore  to  suppose  that  the  deer  and 
other  game  have  left  the  hills  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
forage,  and  that  the  tygers  and  leopards  have  followed  them 
to  the  plains.  Yet  the  cattle  of  the  Bheels  which  we  have  fal- 
len in  with,  though  lean,  as  all  the  Indian  cattle  are  at  this 
time  of  year,  do  not  seem  famished. 

A  few  Bheel  huts  were  seen  scattered  over  the  surrounding 
hills  in  conformity  with  the  practice  which  seems  universal 
with  these  people,  of  fixing  their  habitations  on  a  rising  ground. 
A  good  many  of  their  inhabitants  assembled  on  one  of  the  hills 
to  look  at  the  camp,  but  none  came  near  it;  and  though  Dr. 
Smith  and  I,  during  our  evening's  walk,  fell  in  with  three  or 
four,  they  all  made  otF  as  fast  as  they  could,  except  one  young 
man,  who  was,  I  apprehend,  in  the  service  of  the  police  than- 
nadar,  and  whom  we  found  with  his  bow  and  arrows,  watch- 
ing a  small  patch  of  barley,  the  only  cultivation  which  we  saw. 
Our  own  supplies  were  brought  partly  from  Doongra,  partly 
from  Jhalloda,  distances  of  six  and  ten  miles,  and  the  horses 
got  no  gram  till  nearly  nine  o'clock  at  night. 

Soon  after  I  went  to  bed  an  alarm  was  given  by  one  of  the 
sentries,  in  consequence  of  a  baboon  drawing  near  his  post. 
The  character  of  the  intruder  was,  however,  soon  detected  by 
one  of  the  suwarrs,  who  on  the  sepoy's  repeating  his  exclama- 
tion of  the  broken  English,  ''who  goes  'ere?"  said  with  a 
laugh,  "  why  do  you  challenge  the  lungoor.^  he  cannot  answer 
you!"  These  animals  are,  some  of  them,  as  large  as  a  mo- 
derate pointer,  and  when  creeping  through  the  bushes  might 
well  enough  be  mistaken  for  a  Bheel,  especially  as  the  robbers 
of  this  nation  generally  make  their  approaches  on  their  hands 
and  feet. 

March  10. — From  Cheeta  Talao  I  had  intended  to  go  to 
Leemree,  a  distance,  stated  by  Captain  Macdonald,  to  be  six- 
teen miles.  But  on  learning  that  it  was  customary  to  stop  at 
Jhalloda,  and  that  it  was  a  large  place,  I  determined  on  halt- 
ing there,  and  the  rather  since  I  was  told  that  we  could  not 
get  to  a  better  place  of  halting  on  Saturday  than  Doodeah.  In 
all  this  I  was  misinformed  as  the  event  showed,  but  I  had  not 
now  first  to  learn  that  in  countries  of  this  sort,  one  must  often 
learn  one's  way  by  actual  experience.  From  Cheeta  Talao 
our  road  lay  through  a  deep  and  close  forest,  in  the  lower  parts 
of  which,  even  in  the  present  season,  the  same  thick  milky 
vapour  was  hovering  as  that  which  I  saw  in  the  Terrai,  and 
which  is  called  ** essence  of  owl."  We  passed  one  or  two 
places  of  this  kind  both  yesterday  and  to-day,  than  which  no 


JHAILODA.  81 

litter  spots  could  be  conceived,  at  a  proper  time  of  year,  to 
shelter  a  tyger,  or  communicate  a  jungle-fever.  Even  now 
they  were  chilling  cold,  and  the  gloom  and  closeness  of  the 
ravines,  seen  in  the  moonlight,  made  them  dismally  wild  and 
awful.  At  the  end  of  about  nine  miles,  we  crossed  the  bed  of 
the  Mhysree,  and  went  past  a  thanna  named  Moorkhousla, 
and  through  a  country  partially  cultivated,  another  mile  to 
Jhalloda.  We  passed,  both  yesterday  and  this  morning,  ca- 
ravans of  wagons  loaded  with  cocoa-nuts,  proceeding  from 
Barado  to  Malwah,  and  the  northern  provinces.  They  were 
to  bring  back  mhowa  and  corn,  so  that  it  appears  that  the  pre- 
sent high  prices  in  Guzerat  have  actually  made  it  worth 
while  to  encounter  the  heavy  transit  duties. 

We  found  also  at  Jhalloda,  a  Charun,  a  very  fine  athletic- 
looking  man,  and  apparently  a  person  of  some  property,  who 
had  been  on  a  speculation  of  the  same  kind  to  Indore,  whither 
he  had  taken  a  number  of  horses,  and  was  now  returning  with 
about  forty  bullocks  laden  with  grain,  to  his  own  country  of 
Catty warr.  When  we  arrived  at  Jhalloda,  we  found  him  just 
leaving  the  ground,  where  he  had  bivouacked  for  the  night 
with  his  cattle  round  him,  putting  on  his  huge  red  turban, 
girding  his  loins,  and  hanging  on  his  sword  and  shield.  A  ser- 
vant stood  by  him  with  his  matchlock,  and  a  saees  held  his 
poney,  while  four  or  live  other  retainers,  with  matchlocks  on 
their  shoulders,  were  beginning  to  drive  oft'  the  bullocks. 
Many  of  the  more  opulent  Charuns  practise  the  trade  of  horse- 
dealing,  being  very  much  protected  in  their  journies,  against 
every  body  but  Bheels,  by  the  supposed  sanctity  of  their  cha- 
racter. The  Cattywarr  horses  are  among  the  best  in  all  India, 
equal  to  those  of  Cutch  in  beauty,  and  much  superior  in  the 
generosity  of  their  blood,  and  fineness  of  their  temper,  in 
which  they  almost  equal  the  Arabs.  Some  of  them  are  dun, 
with  black  tyger-like  stripes,  and  these  are  the  most  valued. 

Jhalloda  had  been  described  to  me  as  a  city,  a  name  which 
it  little  deserves.  It  has  a  bazar,  however,  a  mosque,  a  small 
pagoda,  and  some  good,  solidly  built  brick  houses,  of  a  kind 
such  as  are  not  usually  seen  in  the  eastern  districts  of  India, 
being  of  two  stories  high,  with  sloping  tiled  roofs,  and  very 
projecting  eaves,  which,  from  the  smallness  of  their  windows 
and  other  circumstances,  put  me  a  good  deal  in  mind  of  our 
Shropshire  malt-kilns.  There  is  a  large  and  handsome  tank, 
not  more  than  half  full  of  water,  but  covered  with  multitudes 
of  teal,  the  banks  of  which  are  shaded  by  some  fine  mangoe 
and  ceiba-trees.  The  crimson  blossoms  of  the  last  were  very 
beautiful,  and  both  they  and  the  mangoes  were  full  of  mon- 
keys, chiefly  of  the  lungoor  kind. 

1  learned  to  my  surprise,  that  Jhalloda,  Godra,  and  three 


82  JHALLODA. 

other  small  towns  in  this  neighbourhood,  with  their  dependant 
hamlets  and  districts,  belong  to  Sindia,  who  is  also  feudal  su- 
perior of  the  Raja  of  Lunewarra.  I  was  not  previously  aware 
that  he  retained  any  influence  in  Guzerat.  His  own  territo- 
ries here  are  called  the  district  of  Punjmahal,  and  had  been 
till  lately  held  in  Jaghire  by  one  of  his  relations  who  oppres- 
sed the  people  grievously,  but  had  been  just  disgraced,  as  is 
said,  by  British  influence,  and  after  some  ineffectual  resistance, 
seized  and  carried  to  Gwalior.  The  Maharaja's  flag  striped 
red  and  white,  is  hoisted  in  the  market-place,  but  the  police 
of  the  neighbourhood,  so  far  at  least  as  the  security  of  the  road 
is  concerned,  appears  to  be  vested  in  a  moonshee  of  Captain 
Macdonald's,  who  came  to  pay  his  respects,  and  gave  me  this 
information.  Grain  here  as  we  found  from  the  bunyans  who 
supplied  the  camp,  was  15  seers  the  rupee,  and  they  said  that 
we  should  find  it  dearer  as  we  went  on.  They  spoke  of  the 
crop  now  in  the  ground  as  never  likely  to  come  up,  and  said, 
which  certainly  agreed  with  our  own  observation,  that  the 
wheat  and  barley  harvest,  which  was  now  beginning,  would 
be  dismally  scanty. 

A  number  of  Bheels,  men  and  women,  came  to  the  camp 
with  bamboos  in  their  hands,  and  the  women  with  their  clothes 
so  scanty  and  tucked  so  high  as  to  leave  the  whole  limb  nearly 
bare.  They  had  a  drum,  a  horn,  and  some  other  rude  min- 
strelsy, and  said  they  were  come  to  celebrate  the  Hoolee. 
They  drew  up  in  two  parties  and  had  a  mock  fight,  in  which 
at  first  the  females  had  much  the  advantage,  having  very  slen- 
der poles,  while  the  men  had  only  short  cudgels,  with  which 
they  had  some  difficulty  in  guarding  their  heads.  At  last 
some  of  the  women  began  to  strike  a  little  too  hard,  on  which 
their  antagonists  lost  temper  and  closed  with  them  so  fiercely 
that  the  poor  females  were  put  to  the  rout  in  real  or  pretended 
terror.  They  collected  a  little  money  in  the  camp,  and  then 
went  on  to  another  village.  The  Hoolee,  according  to  the  ortho- 
dox system,  was  over,  but  these  games  are  often  prolonged  for 
several  days  after  its  conclusion. 

In  the  evening  I  was  alarmed  by  violent  shrieks  from  the 
wife  of  one  of  the  mohouts  and  her  sister;  the  husband  had 
been  beating  them  with  a  large  stick,  and  both  were  all  bloody. 
I  found  on  examination,  that  the  man  had  several  serious 
grounds  of  complaint  against  them,  but  I  admonished  him  se- 
verely for  correcting  them  in  such  a  manner,  and  threatened 
him  with  imprisonment  at  Baroda  if  such  an  offence  occurred 
again.  One  of  the  women  pretended  to  be  very  much  hurt  in- 
deed, but  she  soon  grew  tired  of  shamming  the  insensible,  and 
began  to  scold  and  scream  away,  declaring  that  she  would 
never  enter  her  husband's  house  again,  a  determination  from 


LEEMREE.  83 

which  I  had  very  little  doubt  she  would  relent  as  soon  as  her 
passion  cooled,  and  the  rather  because  in  this  strange  land  she 
had  neither  home  nor  harbour. 

March  11. — The  distance  from  Jhalloda  to  Leemree,  our 
stage  for  tliis  day,  was  little  more  than  six  miles,  and  had  I 
been  fully  aware  of  all  circumstances,  might  easily  have  been 
included  in  the  yesterday's  march.  It  lies  through  a  wild 
country,  though  the  jungle  is  not  so  close  as  that  which  we  had 
lately  traversed.  One  of  the  suwarr's  horses  dropt  down  and 
died  on  the  road,  to  the  great  dismay  of  the  poor  rider,  who 
stated  that  his  horse  was  his  chief  worldly  wealth,  and  that  the 
allowance  made  by  a  sort  of  regimental  fund  establishment  for 
such  emergencies  would  not  buy  him  another.  If  he  had  lost 
it  in  battle,  the  Company  would  have  given  him  200  rupees, 
but  at  present  he  would  receive  only  150  from  a  stock-purse 
which  all  the  irregular  regiments  keep  up  to  meet  casualties. 
Nor  had  he  any  means  of  procuring,  at  present,  an  animal  to 
carry  him  in  his  long  march.  I  felt,  therefore,  glad  to  be  able 
to  give  him  the  Rawul  of  Banswarra's  poney,  which,  though 
not  tall  enough  for  the  ranks,  would  carry  him  perfectly  well 
during  his  march,  and  the  sale  of  which  would  afterwards  come 
very  handsomely  in  aid  of  his  new  purchase. 

Leemree,  or  Neemree,  for  it  seems  to  be  pronounced  both 
ways,  is  a  good  sized  village  on  the  bank  of  the  winding 
Mhysree,  which  we  here  crossed  a  second  timej  the  water  still 
formed  many  deep  pools  in  parts  of  its  rocky  bed,  in  which  were 
a  good  many  fish.  It  was  however,  as  a  countryman  on  the 
bank  assured  me,  too  putrid  to  be  drinkable,  and  the  camp 
was  supplied  from  some  small  wells  near  the  town.  We  over- 
took some  Brinjarrees  in  this  morning's  march,  carrying  corn 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Indore  to  Baroda.  Soon  after  we 
arrived  at  our  ground,  a  poor  woman  came  to  Dr.  Smith,  and 
complained  that  she  had  been  robbed  of  all  her  property  and 
beaten  by  the  Bheels  near  the  pass  of  Doodeah,  which  lies  about 
half  way  in  the  stage  which  we  were  to  go  next  morning.  She 
added  that,  on  her  remonstrating,  the  plunderers  threatened 
to  take  away  her  two  children.  A  complaint  nearly  similar 
was  brought  to  me  in  my  evening's  walk  by  an  elderly  man, 
the  Potail  of  the  village,  who  said  that  he  and  some  other  peo- 
ple had  had  their  wains  stopped  and  plundered  and  their  oxen 
carried  away,  and  on  being  reminded  that  they  should  have  re- 
course to  the  officers  of  the  Maharaja,  whose  subjects  they  were, 
replied  with  some  justice,  ''Why  do  you  English  keep  a  line  of 
posts  through  our  country,  unless  you  will  defend  us  in  passing 
along  the  road?"  I  told  tliem  to  send  one  of  their  number  with 
me  to  Barreeah,  where  a  moonshee  of  the  British  Government 
resides,  from  whom  I  would  endeavour  to  obtain  justice  for 


84  REAPING. 

them.  Dr.  Smith  had  applicants  for  surgical  aid  both  yester- 
day and  to-day;  the  first  was  a  very  fine  boy,  who  was  brought 
by  his  parents  with  a  dislocated  shoulder,  which  had  occurred 
SIX  weeks  ago.  The  second  was  also  a  boy,  who  had  lost  his 
sight  in  the  small-pox,  a  case  but  too  plainly  hopeless.  The 
poor  child  seemed  very  intelligent,  but  knowing  nothing  of  the 
blessings  of  sight,  seemed  glad  when  he  found  that  no  opera- 
tion was  to  be  performed  on  him,  but  his  father  shed  tears  on 
learning  that  Dr.  Smith  could  not  help  him. 

Notwithstanding  the  scarcity  of  water  which  has  prevailed 
here,  forage  does  not  seem  scarce,  and  the  cattle  whom  we 
met  in  carts,  are  by  no  means  in  a  starving  condition ;  they 
are  not  equal  to  those  of  Marwar,  but  they  greatly  surpass 
the  wretched  bullocks  of  Bengal,  and  are  superior  even  to  the 
average  of  Hindostan. — Leemree  has  a  small  ruined  brick  fort 
and  a  little  bazar,  but  nothing  worthy  of  notice.  For  a  small 
distance  round  the  village  the  ground  is  cultivated,  but  all  the 
further  prospect  is  wilderness  still.  Near  our  tents  many 
people,  both  men  and  women,  were  employed  in  cutting  a 
barley -field.  They  reaped  it  with  very  small  sickles,  gather- 
ing it  not  by  armsful  as  in  England,  but  by  handsful,  cutting 
each  time  no  more  than  they  could  grasp  in  the  left  hand  ; 
the  crop  was  very  thin  and  poor,  with  starveling  ears,  and 
wretchedly  short  straw.  I  observed  that  here,  as  in  Europe, 
gleaning  is  a  privilege  of  the  poor,  and  that  a  number  of 
miserable  looking  women  and  children  followed  the  reapers, 
picking  Hp  what  they  left  I  was  much  grieved  to  see  so  sad 
a  prospect  for  the  ensuing  year,  and  even  now  it  is  painful  to 
look  forwards  to  the  distress  to  which  most  of  these  villages 
must  be  liable  from  the  total  drying  up  of  their  rivers  and 
wells  before  the  first  rains  can  be  expected. 

March  12. — We  marched  between  sixteen  and  seventeen 
miles  through  a  very  wild  and  beautiful  country,  and  down  a 
long,  steep,  and  rugged  descent,  carried  along  the  projecting 
ridge  of  a  hill,  with  glens  on  each  side.  From  the  top  of  this 
Ghat  I  had  expected  a  fine  view  of  the  rich  and  cultivated 
country,  as  it  had  been  described  to  me,  of  Guzerat,  but  was 
surprised  to  see  a  fine  prospect  indeed,  but  still  of  wooded  hill 
and  valley,  and  so  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  no  trace  of  hu- 
man habitation,  except  one  miserable  thatched  shed  close  to 
us,  where  a  picquet  of  police  sepoys  was  stationed.  As  we 
descended  the  hill,  however,  Bheel  huts  were  seen  scattered 
among  the  trees,  and  we  successively  passed  a  thatched  than- 
nah  surrounded  with  a  bamboo  fence,  a  small  village  chiefly 
of  Bheels,  called  Doodeah,  and  after  crossing  a  little  river, 
or  rather  the  dry  bed  of  one,  arrived  in  a  beautiful  glade  sur- 


JOURNEY    TO    JERREAS.  85 

rounded  with  tall  trees,  in  which  our  tents  were  pitched,  near 
a  part  of  the  river  which  yet  had  water. 

In  consequence  of  the  alleged  misbehaviour  of  the  Bheels  in 
this  neighbourhood,  I  had  directed  some  additional  precau- 
tions to  be  observed  in  keeping  the  caravan  together,  and  the 
soldiers  in  readiness  for  action.  We  met  with  no  thieves, 
however,  nor  was  it  likely  that  they  v/ould  come  in  the  way  of 
such  a  party.  Indeed  we  found  the  Brinjarrees  travelling  the 
road  without  any  additional  precaution ;  they,  however,  are 
all  armed,  and  such  stout  fellows  that  the  thieves  must  be 
numerous  and  bold  who  would  have  any  thing  to  say  to  them. 
The  wagoners,  likewise,  of  whom  we  met  another  large  party, 
can  travel  through  very  wild  countries  in  much  security  5  they 
go  in  numbers,  have  mostly  swords  and  shields,  and  often 
join  their  purses  to  hire  an  escort  of  Bheels,  who,  when  trust- 
ed, are  generally  both  brave  and  trustworthy.  By  day  we 
frequently  met  them  proceeding  with  an  advanced  and  rear 
guard  of  these  naked  bow-men,  and  at  night  they  dravv^  their 
wagons  into  a  circle,  placing  their  cattle  in  the  centre,  and 
connecting  each  ox  to  his  yoke-fellow,  and  at  length  to  the 
wain,  by  iron  collars  rivetted  round  their  necks,  and  fastened 
to  an  iron  chain,  which  last  is  locked  to  the  cart-wheel.  It  is 
thus  extremely  difficult  to  plunder  without  awaking  them ; 
and  in  addition  to  this,  where  the  place  is  supposed  to  require 
it,  one  of  their  number  stands  sentry.  Besides  cocoa-nuts,  we 
found  they  were  carrying  tobacco  northwards. 

March  13. — This  day""  being  Sunday,  I  was  happy  to  be 
able  to  halt,  an  order  which  I  believe  was  very  acceptable  to 
all  the  men  and  animals  in  the  camp,  who  after  our  late  stony 
roads,  were  alike  showing  symptoms  of  fatigue.  I  read  pray- 
ers as  usual  in  the  morning,  and  in  consideration  of  the  great- 
ly advanced  price  of  provisions,  which  was  now  a  rupee  for 
14  seers  of  flour,  I  paid  the  bunyans  for  furnishing  a  seer  of 
flour,  or  day's  meal,  to  every  person  in  the  camp.  In  the 
course  of  the  afternoon  I  had  the  happiness  to  receive  a  packet 
of  letters,  forwarded  by  Mr.  Williams,  resident  at  the  court 
of  Baroda,  containing  a  favourable  account  of  my  wife  and 
children,  and  letters  from  my  mother  and  sister.  I  dreamt 
of  Hodnet  all  night ! 

March  14. — We  were  met,  almost  immediately  on  our  set- 
ting out  this  morning,  by  two  suwarrs  in  the  service  of  the 
Raja  of  Barreah,  who  came  to  act  as  guides.  We  followed 
them  among  some  romantic  woody  hills,  and  through  some  of 
the  thickest  jungle  which  we  have  traversed,  to  a  small  plain, 
or  more  open  spot,  with  a  thannah  and  village,  named  J  erreali, 
ten  miles  from  Barreah.  This  is  the  usual  halting-place,  but 
the  wells  are  now  insuflicient  for  so  largQ  a  party  as  mine,  and 


86  MAHARATTA    ESCORT. 

I  therefore  had  settled  to  go  onto  the  city,  which  is  five  miles 
further,  and  not  more  than  two  or  three  out  of  the  direct  road. 
In  our  way  we  were  met  by  Captain  Macdonald's  moonshee, 
in  charge  of  this  part  of  the  road,  a  mussulman,  and  native  of 
Allahabad,  accompanied  by  a  crowd  of  very  shabby  horsemen, 
among  whom  he  presented  one  to  me  as  the  Khamdar  of  the 
Raja  of  Barreah,  and  sent  on  his  master's  part  to  meet  me. 
The  moonshee  was  well-mounted  and  gaily  dressed,  with 
sword,  dagger,  shawl,  inlaid  trappings,  and  all  the  usual  in- 
signia of  a  Mahomedan  gentleman.  All  the  rest,  the  Khamdar 
among  them,  were  wrapped  up  in  coarse  cotton  cloth,  on  sorry 
horses,  and  had,  with  their  long  spears,  buflalo-hide  shields, 
and  bare  legs  and  heels,  pretty  exactly  the  appearance  of  the 
Abyssinian  troops  described  by  Bruce.  Several  men,  naked 
all  but  the  waistcloth,  followed,  with  matchlocks  on  their 
shoulders,  and  the  procession  was  closed  by  a  number  of  Bheel 
archers,  differing  in  no  respect  from  those  whom  we  had  seen 
on  the  mountains.  The  only  mark  of  state,  and  this  is  Abys- 
sinian also,  was  that  the  ••'nagari,"or  great  kettle-drum,  was 
carried  at  their  head,  and  beat  with  single  dubs,  from  time  to 
time.  Here  the  Rajpoot  red  turban  loses  its  consequence,  the 
reigning  family  of  Baroda  being  Maharattas,  to  which  race, 
apparently,  the  horsemen  whom  we  met  to-day  belonged. 
This  will,  in  a  great  measure,  account  for  their  shabby  ap- 
pearance, the  Maharatta  pretty  generally  affecting  a  soldier- 
ly plainness,  and  to  despise  all  show  and  parade.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  the  only  instance  in  which  a  neglect  of  appear- 
ances seems  to  exist  in  Guzerat.  The  hurkaru  who  brought 
Mr.  Williams'  letter  was  a  mere  beggar  in  his  dress,  and  so 
dirty  as  even  beggars  are  seldom  seen  in  Hindostan  or  Ben- 
gal. Yet  on  being  asked  what  situation  he  held  about  the  Re- 
sidency, he  described  himself  as  a  servant  in  regular  pay,  and 
receiving  no  less  than  eight  rupees  a  month  !  On  such  wages, 
and  in  such  a  situation,  it  would  go  hard  indeed  with  a  Hin- 
doostanee  but  he  would  have  decent  clothing,  shoes,  a  sword 
with  silver  or  plated  hilt,  and  an  embroidered  belt.  The  old 
man,  however,  for  such  he  was,  was  cheerful  and  intelligent 
He  had  brought  the  letter  on  foot  from  Baroda,  in  two  days 
and  a  night, — professed  to  know  the  straightest  roads  all  over 
Guzerat,  and  as  the  value  of  his  rags  did  not  exceed  many 
pice,  and  nobody  could  suspect  him  of  being  a  government 
functionary,  he  was  probably  one  of  the  best  messengers  who 
could  be  employed  in  a  country  so  wild,  and  in  so  much  anar- 
chy, as  this  has  usually  been. 

Barreah  stands  very  prettily  in  the  midst  of  woody  hills. 
Among  the  few  fruit-trees  which  are  immediately  about  its 
gates,  I  saw  some  coco-palms,  the  first  which  I  had  seen  since 


RAJA  OP  BARREAH.  87 

I  left  Bengal,  and  a  proof  that  we  were  again  approaching 
the  sea. 

The  Raja,  a  child  of  twelve  years  old,  with  a  cousin  a  lit- 
tle older,  the  Khamdar  mentioned  before,  and  a  number  of 
ragged  attendants,  came  to  see  me  in  the  evening.  He  was 
carried  in  a  handsome  palankeen,  had  the  nigari  and  neshan 
of  state  carried  before  him,  and  was  himself  a  pretty  little 
boy,  with  an  intelligent  countenance,  and  neatly  dressed, 
with  sword,  shield,  and  dagger,  suited  to  his  age,  and  a  large 
red  turban.  His  name  is  Prit'hee  Lall  Singh,  and  he  is  a 
Rajpoot,  though  those  with  him  were  Maharattas  or  B heels, 
and  he  appeared  to  have  few  of  his  own  caste  either  in  his 
court  or  territory,  both  which  showed  marks  of  much  poverty. 
I  received  him  with  military  honours,  seated  him  on  a  chair 
at  my  right  hand,  and  placed  his  cousin  on  anotJier  at  my 
left.  These  attentions  were  more  intended  to  please  the  boy's 
followers  than  himself,  and  as  a  proper  means  of  keeping  up 
his  consequence  in  their  estimation.  But  though  I  suppose 
he  was  hardly  old  enough  to  care  about  forms,  I  was  amused 
to  see  how  much  the  novelty  of  the  sight  delighted  him,  par- 
ticularly the  red  coats  and  muskets  of  the  sepoys,  who  are 
rarities  in  these  secluded  valleys.  He  listened,  too,  with 
much  more  interest  and  animation  than  is  generally  displayed 
by  the  upper  ranks  of  Hindoos  in  conversation,  to  the  account 
wliich  Dr.  Smith  gave  him  of  the  cities  which  I  had  visited, 
and  of  my  intended  long  voyage  by  sea,  and  by  the  way  of 
Lanca  to  Calcutta.  The  sea  is  called  by  all  the  natives  of 
Central  India  '' kala  panee,"  (black  water,)  and  they  have 
the  most  terrible  ideas  of  it  and  the  countries  beyond  it.  Sir 
John  Malcolm  relates,  in  his  account  of  Malwah,  that  when 
Cheetoo,  the  Pindarree  chief,  was  flying  in  hopeless  misery 
from  the  English,  he  was  often  advised  by  his  followers  to 
surrender  to  their  mercy.  He  was  possessed,  however,  by 
the  idea  that  he  should  be  transported,  and  this  notion  was  to 
liim  more  hideous  than  death.  These  men,  who  all  one  after 
another  came  in  and  obtained  pardon,  said  that  during  their 
Captain's  short  and  miserable  sleep,  he  used  continually  to 
murmur,  "kalapanee!"  '*kala  panee!"  Thus  haunted,  he 
never  would  yield,  till  at  length  all  his  people,  one  by  one, 
had  forsaken  him  in  the  jungle,  and  a  mangled  body  was 
found  in  a  tyger's  lair,  which  the  sword,  the  ornamented  sad- 
dle, and  a  letter-case  containing  some  important  papers  and 
a  general's  commission  from  the  Ex-Raja  of  Nagpoor,  proved 
to  have  been  once  the  scourge  of  Central  India!  A  nearly 
similar  case  Dr.  Smith  said  had  fallen  under  his  own  know- 
ledge, of  a  Bheel  chief,  who,  for  murder  and  robbery,  was 
sent  to  be  confined  at  Allahabad.    *He  was  very  anxious 

Vol.  II.— 8 


OO  RAJA  OF  BARREAH. 

during  the  march  to  obtain  spirituous  liquors,  which  the  offi- 
cer commanding  the  escort,  out  of  compassion,  frequently 
supplied  him  with.  When,  however,  he  was  drunk,  he  would 
never  be  pacified  with  the  assurance  that  he  was  only  to  be 
confined  at  Allahabad,  and  used  to  cry  and  rave  about  *'  kala 
panee,"  invoking  **  Company  Sahib"  to  be  merciful,  and  kill 
him,  that  he  might  be  burned  in  Hindostan.  With  such 
feelings,  they  may  well  listen  with  astonishment  to  the  long 
voyages  which  we  voluntarily  take,  and  of  the  strange  lands 
which  must  lie  beyond  this  frightful  barrier. 

The  Khamdar  told  us  that  Barreah  had  suffered  grievously 
during  the  years  of  trouble;  but  that  their  late  Raja  was  a  va- 
liant man,  and  his  little  country  being  strong  and  easily  de- 
fended, he  had  never  paid  tribute  either  to  Maharaja  or  Pin- 
darree,  unless  actually  constrained  by  force,  and  had  always 
revolted  again  as  soon  as  the  pressure  of  a  present  and  victo- 
rious army  was  withdrawn.  The  Khamdar's  own  name,  he 
said,  was  Nuttoo  Baee. — After  sitting  some  little  time,  an 
event,  of  which  I  had  been  from  the  first  apprehensive,  oc- 
curred, and  I  was  told  by  the  Khamdar  that  the  Raja  had 
brought  a  horse,  of  which  he  begged  my  acceptance.  I 
fought  it  off  as  long  as  I  could,  urging,  with  great  truth,  that 
it  would  really  put  me  to  difficulty,  that  I  could  not  take  it 
on  ship-board,  and  did  not  know  what  I  should  do  with  it. 
The  people  present,  all  said  it  was  "  namoobaruk, "  (un- 
lucky,) to  send  me  away  without  a  present,  and  at  last  the 
little  Raja  rose,  and  joining  his  hands,  said,  "  Lord  Sahib, 
for  my  sake  take  this  horse."  I  was  therefore  obliged  to 
yield,  and  was  glad  to  believe  that  the  present  I  had  prepared 
for  him,  while  I  could  very  well  spare  it,  was  handsome,  and 
likely  to  be  useful  to  him.  It  consisted  of  three  pieces  of 
English  flowered  muslin,  and  a  gilt  dagger  in  a  red  and  yel- 
low velvet  sheath,  which  I  stuck  in  the  little  fellow's  sash, 
and  which  appeared  to  please  him  greatly.  The  horse  was 
now  brought,  and  turned  out  to  be  really  a  very  pretty  Cutch 
poney,  old  certainly,  and  in  bad  condition,  but  still  equal  to 
some  service. 

The  Raja  now  took  his  leave,  and  went  off  with  his  cousin 
in  the  palankeen.  The  Khamdar,  and  another  man  who  said 
he  was  a  shroff,  or  banker,  remained,  and  took  some  pains  to 
explain  a  transaction  in  which  they  had  been  concerned,  in 
regard  to  certain  arrears  of  the  tribute  paid  by  them  to  the 
British  government.  The  late  Khamdar,  now  in  prison,  had 
detained,  they  said,  for  two  years  back,  the  balance  which  he 
ought  to  have  remitted  to  Mr.  Macdonald,  having  been  en- 
couraged to  do  so  by  a  report  that  the  Raja  of  the  Burmans 
had  already  taken  Calcutta.     The  sliroff  then  present  had  de- 


FAMINE  IN  BARREAH.  89 

tained  some  part  of  his  effects,  but  had  applied  them,  if  I  un- 
derstood right,  to  the  payment  of  a  debt  to  himself.     He  had, 
liowever,  no  share  in  the  treasonable  or  fraudulent  part  of  the 
transaction.     I  said  that  I  would  speak  favourably  of  them  in 
my  letter  to  Captain  Macdonald;  and  his  moonshee  after- 
wards told  me,  that  Captain  Macdonald  thought  highly  of 
this  present  Khamdar,  and  had  treated  him  with  marked  kind- 
ness and  confidence.   Both  Khamdar  and  shroff'  gave  a  dismal 
account  of  the  distress  of  Barreah,   and   the  neighbouring 
countries.     In  the  small  and  barren  territory  of  tlie  Raja, 
containing  about  270  villages,  a  very  large  proportion  were 
almost  without  inhabitants;  and  in  the  course  of  our  after- 
noon's walk  through  the  little  town,  I  for  the  first  time,  saw 
some  of  the  horrors  of  an  Indian  famine.  The  town  had  been, 
to  all  appearance,  neat  and  substantially  built,  but  a  great 
many  houses  were  uninhabited,  and  falling  to  decay.     The 
cattle  which  they  were  driving  in  from  the  jungle  for  the 
night  were  mere  skeletons,  and  so  weak  that  they  could  hard- 
ly get  out  of  the  path.     There  were  few  beggars,  for  it  seem- 
ed as  if  they  had  either  died  off"  or  gone  to  some  other  land; 
but  all  the  people,  even  the  bunyans,  who  generally  look  well 
fed,  were  pictures  of  squalid  hunger  and  wretchedness;  and 
the  beggars  who  happened  to  fall  in  my  way,  alas!  I  shall 
never  forget  them!  for  I  never  before  could  have  conceived 
life  to  linger  in  such  skeletons.     To  one  of  these,  an  elderly 
man,  naked,  except  a  little  rag  fastened  with  a  packthread 
round  his  waist,  1  gave  all  the  pice  I  could  collect  from  my 
own  pocket  or  the  servants  who  were  with  me;  and  after  all, 
they,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  amounted  to  only  two  or  three  anas. 
The  man  clasped  them  in- his  hands,  burst  into  a  ghastly 
laugh,  and  ran  oft*  as  if  in  a  hurry  to  buy  food  immediately. 
A  little  further  was  a  still  more  dreadful  figure,  a  Bheel,  who 
did  not  beg,  but  was  in  a  state  of  such  visible  starvation,  that 
I  called  to  him,  and  bid  him  go  to  the.khansaman  for  some- 
thing to  eat.     I  followed  him  to  my  tents,  and  found  that  he 
had  already  had  some  scraps  given  him  by  the  sweeper.     I 
added  to  these  a  shoulder  of  mutton  and  a  seer  of  flour,  as 
well  as,  I  am  ashamed  to  say  how  little  money,  all  of  which 
tlie  poor  wretch  tiied  to  fold  in  the  rag  which  he  took  from 
his  loins.     He  seemed  quite  past  every  thing,  and  even  indif- 
ferent to  what  I  was  doing  for  him.     Some  famishing  children 
now  came  up,  a  poor  man  who  said  he  was  a  butcher,  but  had 
no  employ,  and  a  black,  who  described  himself  as  a  Mussul- 
man Fakir,  and  a  native  of  Masuah  in  Abyssinia.     I  gave  a 
few  anas  to  each,  reproaching  myself  all  the  time  for  giving 
80  little,  but  apprehending  that  I  should  shortly  have  half  the 
population  round  me,  and  that  if  I  gave  what  I  felt  inclined 


90  OKIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  GOOLEE. 

to  do,  I  should  not  leave  myself  enough  for  my  own  expenses 
to  Baroda,  as  well  as  for  the  many  similar  objects  of  distress 
which  I  might  see  by  the  way. 

The  misery  of  this  immediate  neighbourhood  has  been  ma- 
terially augmented  by  superstition.  The  calamity  is  want  of 
water,  yet  there  is  a  fine  boolee  close  to  the  city,  which,  even 
now,  is  nearly  full,  but  of  which  no  use  is  made.  A  man  fell 
into  it  and  was  drowned,  two  years  ago,  and  the  people  not 
only  desisted  from  drinking  the  water  themselves,  (which  for 
a  certain  time  was  not  unnatural,)  but  from  giving  it  their 
cattle,  or  irrigating  their  ground,  from  it.  For  want  of  being 
stirred  it  is  now,  of  course,  putrid  and  offensive,  but  would 
soon  recover  if  drawn  off  liberally  for  the  fields,  and  become 
again  useful  both  for  beast  and  man.  But  they  would  starve, 
and  in  fact  were  starving,  rather  than  incur  this  fancied  pol- 
lution. The  agricultural  implements,  and  every  thing  else 
in  this  country,  seem  behind  those  of  their  Hindoostanee 
neighbours.  The  carts  and  ploughs  are  ruder  and  worse  con- 
structed, and  their  wells  have  not  even  the  simple  machinery, 
if  it  deserves  the  name,  for  raising  the  water,  which  I  never 
saw  one  without  in  Upper  India,  and  which  is  always  found 
in  the  wildest  parts  of  Malwah,  and  the  valley  of  the  Ner- 
budda.  We  were  as  yet,  however,  in  the  jungles,  and  it 
would  not  have  been  fair  to  judge  of  Guzerat  in  general  from 
the  specimen  which  we  now  had  seen. 

March  16. — From  Barreah  we  went  to  Damma  Ka  Boolee^ 
a  cistern  in  the  jungles,  constructed  by  a  person  named  Dam- 
ma Jee,  whose  name  it  bears,  by  which  is  a  small  police 
thanna.  About  five  miles  further  we  crossed  the  dry  and 
rocky  bed  of  a  river  Mhysree,  (the  second  of  the  name,)  on 
whose  banks  our  tents  were  pitched,  in  a  romantic  situation, 
near  a  scattered  village.  Immediately  adjoining  the  houses, 
and  in  some  parts  of  the  bed  of  the  river,  were  marks  of  a 
crop  having  been  recently  reaped,  from  fields  or  rather  small 
gardens,  with  high  bamboo  fences.  This  was  almost  the  only 
approach  to  cultivation  which  we  had  seen  since  we  entered 
the  territories  of  Barreah,  whose  young  sovereign,  poor  little 
fellow,  w^ould  indeed  have  a  "  noble  grist"  if  mowah-trees 
were  mangoes,  and  jungle-grass  corn. 

The  head  man  of  the  village  said  he  was  a  Kholee,  the 
name  of  a  degenerate  race  of  Rajpoots  in  Guzerat,  who,  from 
the  low  occupations  in  which  they  are  generally  employed, 
have,  (under  the  corrupt  name  of  Coolee)  given  a  name,  pro- 
bably through  the  medium  of  the  Portuguese,  to  bearers  of 
burthens  all  over  India.  In  Guzerat,  they  are  described  in 
Hamilton's  Gazetteer  as  distinguished  by  their  uncleanness, 
ferocity  and  predatory  habits,  and  as  giving  a  great  deal  of  trou- 


MULLAOW.  91 

ble  to  government.  This  person,  however,  was  of  decent 
manners  and  appearance.  Our  supplies  of  every  kind  were 
brought  with  us  from  Barreah,  so  that  we  had  no  occasion  to 
give  him  any  trouble,  fire-wood  being  at  hand  under  these  dry 
shrivelled  trees  for  every  body  who  chose  to  get  it.  To  ob- 
tain water  in  sufficient  quantity  for  the  camp,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  dig  three  or  four  feet  in  the  sand  of  the  river's  bed, 
when  water  soon  rose  to  the  surface.  The  other  inhabitants 
of  the  village  and  neighbourhood  were  Bheels,  but  it  gave  me 
pleasure  to  see  that  these  lowland  Bheels,  (notwithstanding  the 
barrenness  of  the  soil,  and  the  actual  distress  of  the  country,) 
were  in  seeming  better  plight  than  those  we  had  met  in  the 
hills,  to  say  nothing  of  the  wretched  beggars  of  Barreah. 
Their  dwellings  were  larger,  they  had  more  ample  mantles, 
that  is,  the  dirty  cotton  cloth  which  covered  their  head  and 
shoulders  reached  generally  to  their  hips.  Many  of  them  had 
swords  and  shields,  others  a  small  but  neatly  made  hatchet, 
and  one  man  who  was  our  guide  through  the  wood  to-day,  and 
had  a  blanket  of  red  baize  flung  over  his  shoulders,  as  he 
trotted  along  the  rugged  road  before  my  horse's  head,  remind- 
ed me  exceedingly  of  the  pictures  of  a  North  American  Indian. 
He  was  one  of  the  servants  of  the  police  thanna,  so  that  the 
Company's  pay  had  probably  put  him  in  better  plight  than 
most  of  his  neighbours. 

Near  this  village  was  the  finest  banyan  tree  which  I  had 
ever  seen,  literally  a  grove  rising  from  a  single  primary  stem, 
whose  massive  secondary  trunks,  with  their  straightness, 
orderly  arrangement,  and  evident  connexion  with  the  parent 
stock,  give  the  general  effect  of  a  vast  vegetable  organ.  The 
first  impression  which  I  felt  when  coming  under  its  shade 
was,  ''  What  a  noble  place  of  worship!"  1  was  glad  to  find 
that  it  had  not  been  debased,  as  I  expected  to  find  it,  by  the 
symbols  of  idolatry,  though  some  rude  earthen  figures  of  ele- 
phants were  set  up  over  a  wicket  leading  to  it,  but  at  a  little  dis- 
tance. I  should  exult  in  such  a  scene,  to  collect  a  Christian 
congregation.  The  banks  of  the  Mhysree  are  steep  and  rocky, 
and  the  granite  rock  is  seen  ever^^  where  through  the  country, 
peeping  out,  or  rising  in  large  insulated  masses,  above  the 
scanty  soil 

March  16. — Another  march  of  about  eight  miles  through 
jungle  as  usual,  brought  us  to  Aradiah,  a  poor  deserted  village, 
whence  through  a  more  open  country,  we  went  four  and  a 
half  more  to  Mullaow.  Both  these  places  belong  to  Sindia, 
and  the  latter  has  been  a  large  village,  but  is  now  almost  un- 
peopled, by  the  tyranny  of  Sindia's  governor,  Puttun-kar, 
and  by  this  year  of  famine.    We  met  a  herd  of  eows  on  en- 

8* 


92  FORT    POWAGHITR. 

tering  the  place,  mere  anatomies,  and  so  weak  that  when  one 
of  them  fell  in  crossing  the  ruts  of  the  road,  she  could  not 
rise  again.  The  country  is  here  adapted  for  rice  cultivation, 
the  water  for  which,  in  more  auspicious  years,  has  been  sup- 
plied from  a  large  artificial  tank.  This  is  not  now  quite  dry, 
but  is  so  low  beneath  its  banks,  as  to  be  inapplicable  to  irri- 
gation, and  the  fields,  when  I  saw  them  were  perfectly  waste 
and  bare,  and  their  soil  the  colour  and  consistency  of  a  sandy 
turnpike  road.  Flour  was  dearer  than  even  at  Barreah,  being 
here  only  eleven  seer  for  the  rupee,  and  there  was  no  gram  to 
be  obtained,  except  the  inferior  sort,  called  ''  motee,"  which 
made  two  of  the  horses  ill,  though  it  is  a  common  provender  in 
many  parts  of  India. 

I  this  day  unexpectedly  found  the  Raja's  little  horse  very 
useful,  Cabul  having  unfortunately  hurt  himself  by  his  endea- 
vours, when  picketted,  to  get  away  from  an  elephant  which 
broke  loose  and  came  too  near  him,  and  the  suwarree  elephant, 
being  by  the  abominable  carelessness  of  the  mohout,  saddle- 
galled.  The  Raja's  horse  had  been  described  to  me  as  very 
wild  and  ill-tempered,  but  I  found  that  his  restiveness  had 
only  arisen  from  the  excessively  severe  bit  with  which  the  na- 
tives ride,  and  in  my  bridle  he  went  perfectly  well.  Like  all 
the  horses  used  by  men  of  rank  in  India,  he  would  not  trot, 
but  had  an  elastic  springy  amble,  graceful  in  itself,  and  agree- 
able to  the  rider,  but  ill  calculated  for  a  long  stage,  since  it 
must  knock  up  the  horse  much  sooner  than  the  usual  paces  of 
English  travelling. 

We  had  now  apparently  left  the  hills;  there  was  still,  how- 
ever, one  very  fine  insulated  mass  of  rock  on  our  left,  with  a 
large  fortress  on  the  top,  called  Powaghur.  It  belongs  to  Sin- 
dia,  to  whom  also  belongs  the  city  of  Champancer,  at  its  base. 
I  here  received  letters  again  from  Baroda,  brought  by  two  mi- 
serably ragged  and  dirty  men,  who  called  themselves  servants 
of  the  Resident!  They  had  not  even  the  common  brass  lotee 
for  drinking,  which  few  beggars  are  without  in  the  eastern  and 
northern  provinces,  but  merely  a  gourd-shell,  and  in'^iv,...!  of 
the  spiked  and  painted  stall"  which  there  every  common  Dak- 
messenger  carries,  had  long  ragged  staves  plucked  out  of  some 
hedge,  while  their  rags  were  scarcely  enough  to  answer  the 
purposes  even  of  Indian  decency.  All  the  people,  indeed, 
whom  we  see,  now  that  we  are  arrived  in  the  plains,  are  in 
appearance,  cleanliness,  clothes,  and  even  stature,  inferior  to 
those  both  of  Hindostan  and  Bengal.  The  language  differs 
much  less  than  I  expected,  but  there  are  several  Arabic  words, 
which  no  less  than  the  Abyssinian  beggar  I  met  at  Barreali, 
remind  me  that  I  am  drawing  near  a  coast  which  has  been  long 


MULLAOW    TO    KUNJERREE.  93 

and  inseparably  connected,  by  commerce  and  other  ties,  with 
Arabia  and  Africa.  I  saw  no  coco-trees  to-day,  but  the  tara- 
palms  are  numerous. 

A  great  man,  a  relation  of  Sindia's,  who  was  on  a  journey, 
took  up  his  quarters  at  Mullaow  to-day.  His  coming  was  an- 
nounced by  the  sound  of  the  nagari,  and  by  a  trumpet,  so  ex- 
actly resembling  that  which  ushers  in  Mr.  Punch,  that  I  could 
have  thought  that  he  had  arrived  in  person.  In  the  morning, 
however,  when  my  drum  and  fife  beat  the  reveille,  the  band 
of  the  Maharatta  chieftain  tried  to  imitate  them,  but  with  lit- 
tle success.  I  did  not  learn  his  name,  indeed  I  was  very 
closely  occupied  with  some  absurd  tracasseries  of  which  I  hacl 
just  received  accounts,  which  seem  likely  to  give  me  a  good 
deal  of  trouble,  respecting  some  of  the  good  people  of  my  dio- 
cese in  Southern  India.  It  is  enough  to  make  one  sad,  if  not 
angry,  to  see  how  many  bye-ends,  how  many  personal  rival- 
ries, and  how  many  mutual  suspicions  of  ill  intentions  are  al- 
lowed to  mix  even  in  the  noblest  of  all  works,  by  men  who 
profess  to  be,  and  I  believe  mainly  are,  actuated  by  the  same 
motives.  Now  must  1  speak  all  these  men  fair,  to  prevent 
their  coming  to  an  open  schism,  and  very  probably  oftend  them 
all,  because  I  cannot,  and  will  not,  go  so  far  on  either  side  as 
its  supporters  wish  me. 

March  18. — From  Mullaow  to  Kunjerree  is  a  march  of 
twelve  miles,  the  greater  part  still  jungle,  and  the  rest  seems 
desolate  and  abandoned  by  its  cultivators.  Yet  the  soil,  in 
better  years,  and  when  water  is  abundant,  seems  well  calcu- 
lated for  rice;  there  are  many  groves  of  fruit-trees  and  tara- 
palms,  and  a  number  of  small  streams,  which  properly  and 
substantially  dammed  up,  as  has  been  done  in  Rajpootana  and 
Meywar,  might  have  in  a  great  measure  secured  these  dis- 
tricts from  the  miseries  of  the  present  year.  But  every  thing 
seems  to  show  that  we  are  in  one  of  the  least  improved,  as  it 
has  been,  till  very  lately,  one  of  the  most  anarchical  and  dis- 
turbed parts  of  India.  We  passed  a  large  number  of  Brin- 
jarrees  who  were  carrying  salt  into  Malwah,  and  were  to 
bring  back  corn.  They  differed  in  some  respects  from  their 
more  northern  brethren.  Most  of  these  last  have  matchlocks, 
but  the  Guzerattees  had  all  bows,  (of  the  Bheel  construction, 
but  larger  and  stronger,)  arrows,  sword  and  shield,  except  one 
man  who  had  a  sword  and  broad  partizan  or  halbert.  Even 
the  children  had,  many  of  tliem,  bows  and  arrows  suited  to 
their  strength,  and  I  saw  one  young  woman  equipped  in  the 
same  manner.  The  men  were  very  scantily  clothed,  but  fine 
looking  and  powerful,  though  not  tall  fellows,  and  the  females 
were  the  largest  and  most  masculine  whom  I  have  yet  seen  in 
India.     They  a  little  resembled  the  ww^-women,  not  of  Ar- 


94  BOWLUT    RAOW. 

racan,  but  of  Shropshire  and  Staifordshire,  in  their  firm  step 
and  erect  carriage,  and  though  toasted  by  the  sun  to  a  tho- 
rough brick-colour,  and  with  much  coarseness  of  feature,  were 
not  so  black  as  the  Bengalees.  Their  dress  was  a  roll  of  red 
cloth,  wrapped  round  their  bodies  like  the  natives  of  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  and  a  red  mantilla,  like  a  veil,  which  covered 
their  heads,  shoulders,  and  breasts,  and  showed  only  the  lower 
part  of  their  coarse  sinewy  arms,  except  when  they  raised 
them  to  beat  the  cattle  out  of  their  way.  They  had  all  brace- 
lets of  red  sealing  wax,  and  massive  anklets  of  white  metal, 
like  silver^  they  had  also  metal  rings  in  their  noses. 

At  Kunjeree,  which  is  still  in  Sindia's  limit,  I  found  that 
the  Maharaja,  in  all  this  part  of  his  territory,  was  seldom 
called  by  his  proper  name,  Dowlut  Raow,  but  by  the  Arabic 
and  Mussulman  appellation  which,  singularly  enough  for  a 
Hindoo,  he  has  assumed  within  these  few  years,  of  "  Ali  Jah" 
—-"Exalted  of  the  Lord."  The  fort  of  Powaghur  was  the  re- 
sidence of  the  late  governor,  Puttun-kar,  whose  family  are  said 
to  be  still  living  there.  He  himself  is  gone  to  Gwalior,  but 
whether  actually  as  prisoner  or  not  we  heard  different  state- 
ments; the  country  people  said  that  he  was,  probably  because 
they  hoped  so.  The  brahmins,  he  also  being  a  brahmin,  de- 
nied it.  The  present  governor  of  the  province,  Gungadur  Ap- 
pajee,  is  residing  at  Godra. 

We  were  overtaken  this  morning  by  the  principal  moonshee 
of  the  residency,  a  shrewd  Maharatta  brahmin,  accompanied 
by  two  others  aides-de-camp  to  the  Guicwar,  who  had  some 
days  been  in  quest  of  me  with  letters,  having  marched  to  meet 
me  via  Godra,  and  thus  gone  as  far  as  Doodeah  before  they 
found  their  mistake.  They  had  with  them  two  of  Mr.  Wil- 
liams's chobdars,  and  two  of  the  Raja's  with  divers  irregular 
horse,  a  standard,  nagari,  and  four  regular  cavalry.  There 
was  a  good  deal  of  parade,  but  not  equal  in  grave  and  orderly 
magnificence  to  what  I  had  seen  in  Hindostan.  Still  I  found 
that  in  Guzerat,  as  well  as  elsewhere  in  India,  po "  jj  ^vas  at- 
tended to.  I  was  agitated  with  delight,  not  unmixed  with 
painful  anxiety,  on  hearing  that  my  dear  wife  was  probably 
already  at  sea  on  her  way  to  meet  me,  with  one  of  my  little 
ones,  having  been  compelled,  alas!  to  leave  the  other  in  Cal- 
cutta. 

March  18. — From  Kunjerree  to  Jerrdda  is  twelve  miles, 
through  an  open,  and,  in  less  unfavourable  years,  a  well  cul- 
tivated country.  Even  now  I  saw  some  fields  of  flourishing 
sugar-cane  watered  from  wells,  on  examining  which  I  foun^, 
to  my  surprise,  that  the  water  was  very  near  the  surface,  and 
that  had  the  people  possessed  more  capital,  for  industry,  I  do 
not  suspect  them  of  wanting,  they  might  have,  in  a  great  de- 


I 


MAHARATTA  HORSE.  95 

gree,  defied  the  want  of  rain.  We  found  Archdeacon  Barnes' 
tent  here,  and  he  himself  arrived  at  breakfast  time.  I  had 
not  seen  him  since  he  left  Oxford,  and  found  him  less  changed 
by  the  lapse  of  seventeen  years,  ten  of  them  spent  in  India, 
than  I  expected.  In  other  respects  he  is  scarcely  altered  at 
all,  having  the  same  cheerful  spirits  and  unaffected  manner 
which  he  used  to  have  when  a  young  master  of  arts.  From 
him  I  learned  that  Mr.  Williams  and  the  Guicwar  Raja  both 
meant  to  come  out  to  meet  me  the  next  day,  at  some  little 
distance  from  Baroda. 

I  walked  in  the  afternoon  with  him  and  Dr.  Smith,  to  look 
at  the  Maharatta  horse,  who  had  accompanied  the  Raja's 
vakeel  and  Mr.  Williams's  dewan.  They  were  fifty  in  num- 
ber, the  horses  much  better,  both  in  size  and  spirit  than  those 
usually  ridden  by  the  irregular  cavalry  of  Hindostan,  the  men 
inferior  in  height,  good  looks  and  dressy  the  arms  and  appoint- 
ments of  both  pretty  nearly  the  same;  some  had  spears,  most 
had  matchlocks,  shields  and  swords. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

BARODA  TO  BOMBAY. 

ENTRANCE     INTO      BARODA— NAMDAR      KHAN CANTONMENT- 
CHURCH — -CHARACTER  OF  THE  GUICWAR CONSECRATION  OF 

THE    CHURCH VISIT    TO     THE    GUICWAR VISIT    FROM    NA- 
TIVES  GUICWAR    RETURNS    THE    VISIT—DEPARTURE    FROM 

BARODA CROSSING    THE    MHYE KHOLEES SWAAMEE    NA- 

RAIN HOT   WINDS INTERVIEW    WITH    SWAAMEE    NARAIN 

ARRIVAL  AT  KAIRAH INSALUBRITY  OF   CLIMATE JAIN  TEM- 
PLE  DEPARTURE  FROM  KAIRAH DIFFICULTY  IN    CROSSING 

THE  MYHE BROACH BANIAN-TREE   IN    AN    ISLAND    ON    THE 

NERBUDDA SURAT EMBARKATION— ARRIVAL  AT  BOMBAY. 

March  19. — From  Jerrdda  to  Baroda  is  thirteen  miles  over 
a  bare  and  open  country,  the  roads  much  cut  up.  Expecting 
to  meet  ''great  men"  we  made  our  march  in  regular  order, 
the  nagari  beating  and  Maharatta  standard  flying  before  us, 
followed  by  my  chobdars  and  a  chobdar  of  the  resident's,  who 
gave  the  word  for  marching  in  a  sort  of  shrill  cry.  "  Chulo 
Maharatta!"  Forward  Maharattas!  The  vakeels  and  the 
dewan  followed  with  the  chief  part  of  my  escort.  After 
marching  about  eight  miles,  we  were  met  by  a  body  of  horse 


96  ENTRANCE  INTO  BARODA. 

in  Persian  dresses,  under  a  young  officer  splendidly  mounted 
on  a  dapple-gray  Arab  horse,  with  the  most  showy  accoutre- 
ments whicli  I  had  seen  in  India,  and  a  shield  of  rhinoceros- 
hide  as  transparent  as  horn,  and  ornamented  with  four  silver 
bosses.  He  announced  himself  as  sent  by  the  Resident  to 
inquire  after  my  health,  and  advanced  in  a  very  graceful 
manner  to  embrace  me.  Foreseeing  that  I  shoukl  probably 
have  these  sort  of  ceremonies,  I  had  chosen  for  the  day  my 
little  Barreah  horse,  to  whom  my  servants  had  given  the  name 
of  Rawul,  who  having  received  his  breeding  at  a  native  court, 
understood  these  ceremonies  better,  and  endured  them  more 
patiently  than  either  Cabul  or  Nedjeed  would  have  done. 
After  this  ceremony,  and  a  little  more  conversation  with  the 
dewan,  the  young  officer,  who  was  evidently  a  dandy  of  the 
first  brilliancy  in  his  own  way,  began  to  ride  before  me,  show- 
ing off  his  horse  and  horsemanship  in  all  the  usual  manege  of 
the  East,  curvetting,  wheeling,  galloping  forwards,  and  stop- 
ping short.  He  did  all  this  extremely  well,  but  some  of  his 
followers  in  imitating  him  were  not  so  skilful  or  so  fortunate, 
and  one  of  them  got  a  pretty  rude  fall  in  crossing  some  of  the 
deep  ruts  with  which  the  road  was  intersected.  This  gave 
me  a  good  excuse  for  desiring  them  to  ride  gently,  a  measure 
desirable  on  more  accounts  than  one,  since  the  dust  was  al- 
most intolerable.  About  a  mile  further,  Mr.  Williams  met 
us,  with  several  other  gentlemen,  and  an  escort  of  regular 
troopers,  one  of  whom  carried  an  union-jack  before  him,  a 
custom  which  is  common,  he  told  me  in  Guzerat  and  the 
Deckan,  though  not  practised,  as  far  as  I  have  seen,  in  other 
parts  of  India.  He  told  me  that  "his  highness"  had  just  left 
his  palace  as  he  passed  the  gate  of  the  town,  and  that  we 
should  find  him  without  the  gates  under  some  trees.  We 
therefore  quickened  our  pace  as  much  as  was  compatible  with 
the  comfort  of  our  attendants  on  foot,  and  with  the  movements 
of  the  suwarree  elephant,  who  was,  I  found,  considered  as  an 
essential  part  of  the  show,  and  was  directed  to  follow  me 
closely,  though  with  an  empty  howdah.  On  the  spot  desig- 
nated we  found  a  numerous  body  of  cavalry,  camels,  whose 
riders  had  each  a  large  bundle  of  rockets,  and  infantry  armed 
with  matchlocks  and  swords,  of  whom  a  large  proportion  w^re 
Arabs.  These  troops  made  a  long  lane,  at  the  end  of  which 
were  seen  several  elephants,  on  one  of  which,  equipped  with 
more  than  u&ual  splendour,  I  was  told  was  the  Maharaja. 
The  whole  show  greatly  exceeded  my  expectations,  and  sur- 
passed any  thing  of  the  kind  which  I  had  seen,  particularly 
as  being  all  Asiatic,  without  any  of  the  European  mixture 
visible  in  the  ceremonies  of  the  court  of  Lucknow.  We  here 
dismounted  and  advanced  up  the  lane  on  foot,  when  different 


BARODA,  97 

successive  parties  of  the  principal  persons  of  the  city  advanced 
to  meet  us,  beginning  with  a  young  man  whom  Mr.  Williams 
introduced  to  me  as  secretary  to  the  Raja  and  son  of  the  brah- 
min Vakeel  Shastree,  whom  the  Peishwa,   Bajee  Rao,  mur- 
dered by  the  advice  of  Trimbukjee,  and  thence  proceeding 
through  the  different  gradations  of  bankers  and  financial  men, 
military  ofiicers,  (of  whom  many  were  Patans,)  according  to 
their  rank.  Vakeels  of  foreign  states,  ministers,  ending  with 
the  prime  minister,  (all  of  whom  were  brahmins,)  the  Raja's 
brother-in-law,  his  nephew,  a  little  boy  of  six  years  old,  the 
Raja's  brother,  the  heir-apparent,  a  child  also  of  about  six, 
and  the  Maharaja  himself,  a  short  stout-built  young  man,  of 
twenty-seven  years  old.     The  usual  forms  of  introduction 
and  enquiries  after  health  followed,  and  his  highness,  after 
asking  when  I  would  come  to  see  him,  for  which  I  fixed  Mon- 
day evening,  remounted  his  elephant,  and  we  proceeded  dif- 
ferent ways  into  the  city,  which  is  large  and  populous,  with 
tolerably  wide  streets  and  very  high  houses,  at  least  for  India, 
chiefly  built  of  wood,  which  I  had  not  seen  for  a  long  time, 
with  tiled  sloping  roofs,  and  rows  along  the  streets  something 
like  those  of  Chester.     The  palace,  which  is  a  large  shabby 
building,  close  to  the  street,  four  stories  high,  with  wooden 
galleries  projecting  over  each  other,  is  quite  a  specimen  of 
this  kind.     There  are  some  tolerable  pagodas,  but  no  other 
building  which  can  be  admired.     The  streets  are  dirty,  with 
many  swine  running  up  and  down,  and  no  signs  of  wealth, 
though,  as  I  was  told,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  its  reality, 
both  among  the  bankers  and  principal  tradesmen.     The  Resi- 
dency is  a  large  ugly  house  without  verandahs,  and  painted 
blue,  as  stuccoed  houses  sometimes  are  in  England.     It  was 
at  this  time  under  repair,  and  Mr.  Williams,  with  his  sister, 
were  encamped  in  a  grove  of  mangoes  about  a  mile  from  the 
city  5  our  tents  were  pitched  near  his.     In  passing  through  the 
city  I  saw  two  very  fine  hunting  tigers  in  silver  chains,  and 
a  rhinoceros,  (the  present  of  Lord  Amherst  to  the  Guicwar,) 
which  is  so  tame  as  to  be  ridden  by  a  mohout,  quite  as  patiently 
as  an  elephant.     There  were  also  some  very  striking  groupes 
of  the  native  horsemen,  who  thronged  the  street  like  a  fair; 
one  of  them,  a  very  tall  and  large  man  on  a  powerful  horse, 
was  cased  completely  in  chain  armour,  like  the  figure  repre- 
senting a  crusader  at  the  exhibition  of  ancient  armour  in  Pail- 
Mall.     He  had  also  a  long  spear  shod  with  silver,  a  very  large 
shield  of  transparent  rhinoceros-hide,  also  with  silver-studs, 
and  was  altogether  a  most  showy  and  picturesque  cavalier. 
Many  of  the  others  had  helmets,  vant-braces,  gauntlets,  &c. 
but  none  were  so  perfectly  armed  as  he  was. 

During  our  ride  Mr.  Williams  introduced  to  me  more  par- 


98  CANTONMENT  AND  CHURCH. 

ticularly  the  officer  with  the  splendid  equipment,  who  came 
to  meet  me,  by  the  name  Namdar  Khan,  a  native  of  Persia, 
and  commander  of  tlie  Residency  escort.  He  had  been  aids- 
de-camp  to  Sir  John  Malcolm  during  the  Pindarree  war,  and 
was  a  man  of  very  distinguished  and  desperate  bravery,  though, 
certainly  the  greatest  coxcomb,  as  he  was  also  one  of  the  hand- 
somest young  men  I  ever  saw.  Nothing  could  exceed  the 
smartness  of  his  embroidery,  the  spotless  purity  of  his  broad 
belts,  the  art  with  which  his  eyelids  were  blackened  with  an- 
timony, his  short  curling  beard,  whiskers,  and  single  love-lock, 
polished  with  rose-oil,  or  the  more  military  and  becoming  po- 
lish of  his  sword,  pistols,  and  dagger;  he  held  his  bridle  with 
his  right  hand,  having  lost  the  other  by  the  bursting  of  a  gun. 
He  had,  however,  an  artificial  hand  made  in  Baroda,  which, 
so  far  as  show  was  concerned,  and  when  covered  like  the 
other  with  a  white  military  glove,  did  very  well,  but  which 
enhanced  the  merit  of  its  wearer's  excellent  horsemanship, 
since  it  must  have  made  the  management  of  his  charger  more 
difficult.  In  his  instance,  and  in  that  of  many  other  natives 
of  rank  who  had  been  introduced  to  me  this  morning,  I  already 
perceived  what  I  had  afterwards  abundant  opportunity  of 
observing,  that  they  associated  with  Europeans  and  were  treat- 
ed by  them  on  much  more  equality  and  familiarity  than  is 
usual  in  Hindostan.  Some  of  this  may  arise  from  the  frank 
and  friendly  manner  which  distinguishes  Mr.  Williams  indi- 
vidually, as  well  as  the  unusual  fluency  with  which  he  speaks 
Hindoostanee.  But  I  apprehend  that  more  may  be  attributed 
to  the  lively  temper  and  neglect  of  forms  which  are  general 
among  the  Maharattas  themselves,  and  which  are  remarkably 
opposed  to  the  solemn  gravity  of  a  Mussulman  court,  as  well 
as  to  the  long  and  recent  wars  in  which  the  Guicwar  and  the 
English  have  been  allies,  and  in  which  the  principal  officers 
of  both  nations  were  forced  into  constant  and  friendly  inter- 
course. 

In  the  evening  I  drove  out  with  Mr.  and  Miss  Williams  to 
see  the  cantonment  and  the  Church.  The  former  reminded 
me  of  one  of  the  villages  near  London,  having  a  number  of 
small  brick  houses  with  trellis,  wooden  verandahs,  sloping 
tiled  roofs,  and  upper  stories,  each  surrounded  by  a  garden 
with  a  high  green  hedge  of  the  milkbush.  The  effect  is  gay  and 
pretty,  but  1  doubt  whether  the  style  of  architecture  is  so  well 
suited  to  the  climate  as  the  common  "up-country"  bungalow, 
with  a  thatched  roof  and  a  deep  verandah  all  over.  The  Church 
is  a  small  but  convenient  and  elegant  Gothic  building,  accom- 
modating about  400  persons  extremely  well,  and  raised  at  an 
expense  of  not  more  than  12,000  Bombay  or  10,000  sicca  ru- 
pees.    House  rent  and  building  seem  cheap  on  this  side  of 


GUICWAR  or  BARODA.  99 

India,  but  every  thing  else  excessively  dear.  The  best  houses 
in  Bombay  may  be  got  for  350  rupees  a  month,  and  the  best 
house  in  Baroda  cantonment  for  50;  on  the  other  hand  provi- 
sions are  twice,  and  wages  almost  three  times  the  rate  usual 
in  the  upper  provinces;  and  though  fewer  servants  are  kept, 
the  diminution  in  this  respect  is  not  enough  to  make  up  the 
difference.  Most  of  the  household  servants  are  Parsees,  the 
greater  part  of  whom  speak  English.  They  are  of  lighter  com- 
plexion than  the  majority  of  their  eastern  neighbours,  and  in 
dress,  features,  and  countenance,  nearly  resemble  the  Arme- 
nians. They  are  good  waiters  but  less  respectful,  and  I  think 
less  cleanly  tlian  their  brethren  in  the  east.  Instead  of  "  Koee 
hue,"  who's  there?  the  way  of  calling  a  servant  is  "boy,"  a 
corruption,  I  believe,  of  "bhaee,-'  brother. 

The  Bombay  sepoys  were  long  remarkable  for  their  very 
low  stature;  at  present  they  have  had  so  many  recruits  froni 
Hindostan  that  the  difference  is  greatly  removed,  and  their 
grenadier  companies  have  a  full  proportion  of  tall  men  among 
th^m.  Their  battalion  companies  are,  indeed,  still  under-sized. 
Nor  have  they,  like  the  regiments  in  Hindostan,  drawn  re- 
cruits from  the  purer  castes  alone.  Many  of  their  number 
are  Kholees,  some  are  Boras,  and  no  inconsiderable  number 
Jews,  of  whom  a  great  number  is  found  on  the  coast  of  Cat- 
tywar,  Cambay,  &c.  Their  pay  and  allowances  are  consider- 
ably better  than  those  of  the  Bengal  Presidency,  and,  alto- 
gether, the  taller  men  among  them  have  more  the  appearance 
of  English  troops  than  even  the  tine  strapping  soldiers  of 
Hindostan.  They  are  said,  indeed,  to  fall  far  snort  of  these 
in  sobriety  and  peaceable  temper  and  obedience  to  their  of- 
ficers. In  bravery  they  are  surpassed  by  no  troops  in  the 
world,  and  this  is  fortunate,  since  no  army  can  have  a  more 
troublesome  country  to  manage. 

The  Guicwar  is  said  to  be  a  man  of  talent,  who  governs  his 
states  himself,  his  minister  having  very  little  weight  with  him, 
and  governs  them  well  and  vigorously.  His  error  is  too  great 
a  fondness  for  money,  but  as  he  found  the  state  involved  in 
debt,  even  this  seems  excusable.  His  territory  is  altogether 
considerable,  both  in  Cutch,  Catty  war,  and  Guzerat,  though 
strangely  intersected  and  cut  up  by  the  territories  of  Britain, 
Sindia,  and  several  independent  Rajas.  Those  of  Lunwarra 
and  Doongurpoor,  which  used  to  hold  of  Sindia,  now  pay  him 
tribute  also,  as  do  the  Rajas  of  Palhanpoor  and  Cattywar. 
Still  his  income,  amounting  to  no  less  than  eighty  lacks,  or 
nearly  £  800,000,  exceeds  greatly  any  thing  which  might  have 
been  expected  from  the  surface  under  his  rule,  and  the  wild 
and  jungly  nature  of  some  parts  of  it,  and  can  only  be  account- 
ed for  by  the  remarkable  populatioa  and  fertility  of  those  dis- 

VoL.  II.— 9 


100  VISIT  TO  THE  GUICWAR. 

tricts  which  are  really  productive.  Out  of  these  revenues  he 
has  only  3000  irregular  horse  to  pay,  his  subsidiary  force  be- 
ing provided  for  out  of  the  ceded  territory,  and  he  is  therefore, 
probably,  in  more  flourishing  circumstances,  and  possesses 
more  real  power  than  any  sovereign  of  India  except  Runjeet 
Singh.  Sindia,  and  perhaps  the  Raja  of  Mysore,  might  have 
been  excepted,  but  the  former,  though  with  three  times  his 
extent  of  territory,  has  a  very  imperfect  control  over  the 
greater  part  of  it,  and,  indeed,  cannot  govern  his  own  house: 
and  the  latter  is,  apparently,  intent  on  nothing  but  amusing 
himself,  and  wasting  his  income  on  costly  follies  of  state 
coaches  and  gimcracks,  to  which  the  Guicwar  wiselv  prefers 
the  manner  of  living  usual  with  his  ancestors. 

On  Sunday^  March  20,  I  consecrated  the  church,  preached, 
and  administered  the  Sacrament.  The  chaplain  is  Mr.  Keays, 
a  young  man  who  is  well  spoken  of,  and  seems  to  like  his  si- 
tuation; he  and  his  family  have  as  ^^et  enjoyed  good  health, 
though  Guzerat  is  reckoned  one  of  the  worst  climates  in  In- 
dia, being  intensely  hot  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  wi^  a 
heavy  thickness  of  atmosphere  which  few  people  can  endure. 
It  is  in  the  same  latitude  with  Calcutta,  and  seems  to  be  what 
Bengal  would  be  without  the  glorious  Ganges. 

March  21.— The  morning  of  this  day  I  was  busily  employed 
in  preparing  for  the  discharge  of  all  my  Hindoostanee  people, 
who  were  impatient  to  return,  together  with  their  elephants 
and  camels.  Mr.  Williams  kindly  assured  me  that  all  ne- 
cessary aids  of  the  sort  would  be  forthcoming  from  the  com- 
missarat. 

In  the  evening  we  went  in  all  the  state  which  we  could 
muster,  to  pay  our  visit  to  the  Guicwar,  who  received  us, 
with  the  usual  Eastern  forms,  in  a  long  narrow  room,  ap- 
proached by  a  very  mean  and  steep  staircase.  The  hall  it- 
self was  hung  with  red  cloth,  adorned  with  a  great  number 
of  paltry  English  prints,  lamps,  and  wall-shades,  and  with  a 
small  fountain  in  the  centre.  At  the  upper  end  were  cush- 
ions piled  on  the  ground  as  his  highness's  musnud,  with  ciiairs 
placed  in  a  row  on  his  left  hand  for  the  Resident  and  his 
party.  The  evening  went  off  in  the  usual  form,  with  Nach 
girls,  Persian  musicians,  &c.  and  the  only  things  particularly 
worthy  of  notice  were,  that  his  highness  went  through  the 
form  of  giving  the  Resident  and  myself  a  private  audience  in 
liis  own  study,  a  little  hot  room  up  sundry  pair  of  stairs,  with 
a  raised  sofa,  a  punkah,  and  other  articles  of  European  com- 
fort, as  well  as  two  large  mirrors,  a  print  of  Bonaparte,  and 
another  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  He  there  showed  me  a 
musical  snuff-box,  with  a  little  bird,  in  which  he  seemed  to 
take  much  pride,  and  an  imperfect  but  handsome  copy  of  the 


COURT  OF  BARODA.  101 

Shah  Nameh,  of  which  he  desired  me  to  accept.  The  rest  of 
our  conversation  consisted  of  inquiries  after  the  Governor 
General,  the  war,  the  distance  from  Calcutta,  and  other  such 
princely  topics,  till  a  reasonable  time  for  our  consultation 
having  elapsed,  we  returned  down  stairs  again.  The  next 
thing  that  struck  me  was  the  manner  in  which  the  heir  appa- 
rent, the  little  boy  before  mentioned,  made  his  appearance  in 
the  durbar,  announced  by  nearly  the  same  acclamations  as 
his  father,  and  salaming,  as  he  advanced,  to  the  persons  of 
rank,  with  almost  equal  grace,  and  more  than  equal  gravity. 
After  bending  very  low,  and  touching  the  ground  before  his 
father's  seat,  he  welit  up  to  Mr.  Williams  with  the  appear- 
ance of  great  pleasure,  climbed  upon  his  knee,  and  asked  him 
for  a  pencil  and  paper  with  which  he  began  to  scribble  much 
like  my  own  dear  little  girl.  The  third  circumstance  I  re- 
marked was  the  general,  unconstrained,  and  even  lively  con- 
versation which  was  carried  on  between  the  Raja,  his  cour- 
tiers, and  Mr.  Williams,  who  talked  about  their  respective 
hunting  feats,  the  merits  of  their  elephants,  &c.  much  as  mu- 
tatis mutandis,  a  party  in  England  might  have  done.  The 
Raja  was  anxious  to  know  whether  I  had  observed  his  rhino- 
ceros, and  his  hunting  tygers,  and  offered  to  show  me  a  day's 
sport  with  the  last,  or  to  bait  an  elephant  for  me,  a  cruel 
amusement  which  is  here  not  uncommon.  He  had  a  long 
rallying  dispute  with  one  of  the  Thakoors  as  to  an  elephant 
which,  the  Raja  said,  the  Thakoor  had  promised  to  give  him 
for  this  sport;  and  I  do  not  think  he  understood  my  motives 
for  declining  to  be  present  at  it.  A  Mussulman,  however, 
who  sat  near  him,  seemed  pleased  by  my  refusal,  said  it  was 
"  very  good,"  and  asked  me  if  any  of  the  English  clergy  at- 
tended such  sports.  I  said  it  was  a  maxim  with  most  of  us 
to  do  no  harm  to  any  creature  needlessly;  which  was,  he  said, 
the  doctrine  of  their  learned  men  also.  Mr.  Williams  told 
me  that  this  sort  of  conversation,  which  was  very  little  dis- 
turbed by  the  most  strenuous  eftbrts  which  the  poor  singers 
and  dancing-girls  could  make  to  attract  attention,  was  cha- 
racteristic of  a  Maharatta  durbar,  and  that  he  had  known  the 
most  serious  business  carried  on  by  fits  and  starts  in  the 
midst  of  all  this  seeming  levity.  At  last,  about  eight  o'clock, 
the  Raja  told  us  that  he  would  keep  us  from  our  dinner  no 
longer;  and  the  usual  presents  were  brought  in,  which  were, 
however,  much  more  valuable  than  any  which  I  had  seen,  and 
evidently  of  a  kind,  very  few  of  which  were  in  the  compass  of 
my  redeeming  from  the  company.  About  nine  we  got  back 
to  dinner,  hungry  enough,  and  a  little  tired,  but  for  my  own 
part  both  amused  and  interested. 

The  Raja  offered  to  return  my  visit  next  day;  but,  knowing 


102  VISIT  OF  THE  NOBLES. 

that  Tuesday  is,  in  the  estimation  of  all  Hindoos,  unlucky,  I 
named  Wednesday  in  preference,  telling  him  my  reason. 
He  answered  very  politely,  that  he  should  account  every  day 
lucky  in  which  he  had  the  opportunity  of  cultivating  my  ac- 
quaintance, but  was  evidently  well  pleased.  He  had  already, 
out  of  civility,  and  in  consequence  of  being  informed  that  I 
received  no  visits  on  Sunday,  waved  one  prejudice  in  my  fa- 
vour: since  the  day  on  which  I  ai'rived,  being  the  last  day  of 
their  month,  was  one  on  which  he  usually  never  stirred  from 
home. 

I  forgot  to  mention  that  before  breakfast  this  morning  I 
rode  to  see  a  tomb  in  the  neighbourhood  of  tolerable  Mussul- 
man architecture,  but  much  dilapidated,  and  really  not  worth 
dismounting  for.  Its  apparent  estimation  in  tlie  eyes  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Baroda,  gave  me  but  an  humble  idea  of  the 
ruins  of  Ahmedabad. 

March  22. — I  was  busy  all  day  writing,  and  have  notliing 
particular  to  record,  except  that  the  hot  wind  had  now  set  in 
very  decidedly,  and  was  oppressive,  though  in  my  own  tent, 
and  by  the  help  of  tatties,  I  escaped  better  than  most  people. 
A  tent,  overshadowed  as  mine  fortunately  is  by  thick  trees, 
is  an  excellent  house  for  such  weather,  and  better  than  any 
rooms  in  the  small  house,  which,  during  the  day  time,  Mr. 
and  Miss  Williams  occupy.  But  the  English  of  this  Presi- 
dency do  not  seem  to  manage  the  hot  weather  so  well  as  those 
of  Bengal  and  Hindostan. 

March  23. — Several  of  the  principal  Thakoors  of  the  court, 
as  well  as  some  Patau  military  chiefs,  and  some  wealthy 
shroffs  of  the  city,  sent  messages  to  Mr.  Williams  to  express 
a  desire  to  call  on  me,  and  become  better  acquainted  than 
was  possible  at  a  public  durbar.  This  was  a  sort  of  interest, 
Mr.  Williams  said,  which  he  had  never  known  them  show 
before;  and  he  therefore  proposed  that  I  should  give  up  the 
morning  to  see  native  company,  good-naturedly  promising  to 
stay  with  me,  both  to  introduce  my  visitors,  and  to  help  my 
imperfect  knowledge  of  the  language. — About  twenty  persons 
called,  comprising  the  greater  part  of  those  to  whom  I  had 
been  introduced  the  day  of  my  arrival.  Three  of  them  were 
very  young  men,  or  rather  boys,  the  sons  of  the  late  minister, 
Shastree,  who,  as  I  have  already  stated,  was  assassinated  at 
Poonah  by  the  suggestion  of  Trimbukjee.  The  youngest,  a 
very  fine  and  interesting  lad,  was  learning  English,  which  he 
spoke  very  well  and  with  but  little  foreign  accent.  I  asked 
jiim  what  English  work  he  studied,  and  he  answered,  "  I  am 
reading  the  book  of  Elegant  extracts."  His  tutor  is  a  Parsee.. 
Some  little  time  since  he  had  picked  up,  Mr.  AVilliams  said, 
a  New  Testament,  and  read  it  with  delight j  till  his  Brahmin 


VISIT  OF  THE  NOBLES.  103 

Gooroo,  finding  the  nature  of  the  book,  took  it  from  him. 
This  is  the  first  instance  of  such  jealousy  which  has  fallen  in 
my  way,  and  for  this,  I  suspect  that  the  insinuations  of  the 
Parsee  tutor,  (all  of  whose  nation  are  very  suspicious  about 
Christianity,)  were  rather  to  blame  than  the  prejudices  of  the 
simple  Hindoo.  I  hope  to  send  him  another  book  from  Bom- 
bay, which  may  offend  prejudice  less,  and  yet  may  eventually, 
by  God's  blessing,  be  of  some  use  to  him. 

There  were  two  or  three  Patans,  who  asked  many  questions 
about  the  present  state  of  Rohilcund,  and  listened  with  great 
interest  to  the  account  which  I  gave  them  of  the  improve- 
ments making  and  intended  to  be  made  atBareilly,  the  repair 
of  Hafez  Rehmut's  tomb,  and  the  appropriation  of  the  town 
duties  to  these  and  other  local  purposes.  One  of  these  men, 
who  holds  a  high  military  command,  but  whose  name  has  es- 
caped me,  was  a  relation  to  the  tusseldarof  Futtehgunge,  and 
a  very  well  bred  and  sensible  man.  He  came  earliest,  and 
sate  longest,  and,  from  his  pure  Hindoostanee,  I  understood 
him  the  best  of  the  whole  party.  He,  and  another  of  his  coun- 
trymen gave  me  very  affectionate  embraces  at  parting,  saying, 
"  Do  not  forget  Rohilcuntl  and  Guzerat."  Fond  as  they  seem- 
ed of  the  former  country,  they  did  not  appear  to  have  any  in- 
tention of  returning  thither.  A  Cuttywar  Raja  asked  much 
about  Meru  and  Badrinath,  and  meandered  on,  at  some  length, 
about  Indra's  Heaven  which  lay  beyond  them,  I  did  not  un- 
derstand much  of  his  story,  which  was  at  length  cut  short  by 
some  contemptuous  ejaculations  of  his  Mussulman  neighbour 
from  Rohilcund,  who  said  that  he  remembered  the  hills  very 
well,  but  that  all  this  was  nonsense.  Mr.  Williams  observed 
that  the  Lord  Sahib  had  also  seen  "Kaf,"  "Aye,"  said  the 
Mussulman,  *'  those  are  famous  hills!  There  is  the  Mount 
Al  Judi  (Ararat)  and  the  Ark  of  HuzrutNoah  (St.  Noah)  may 
be  seen  there  to  this  day.  There  are  also  Hajiuge  and  Majiuge 
(Gog  and  Magog)."  I  told  him  that  I  had  seen  Kaf,  but  had  not 
been  so  far  as  Mount  Ararat;  though  I  believe  that  the  **burra 
Sahib"  (Mr.  Williams)  had  seen  it,  which  he  confirmed,  hav- 
ing been  in  Persia  with  Sir  John  Malcolm;  but  that  I  had 
seen  Kaf  from  Russia,  which  lay  on  the  other  side.  Another 
Mussulman  here  expressed  a  surprise,  which  was  both  natu- 
ral and  showed  his  intelligence.  ''Did  you  see  it  in  this  jour- 
ney.^ I  though  that  both  Kaf  and  Russia  were  a  very  great 
distance  from  any  part  of  Hindostan."  I  explained  to  him, 
of  course,  where  my  former  travels. had  been,  and  found  that 
he  was  well  acquainted  with  the  names  both  of  Russia  and 
Ustumboul,  which  last  he  explained  of  his  own  accord,  to  be 
*' Cunstuntinoopla,"  though  he  did  not  seem  to  know  much 
about  their  relative  situations.    This.was  a  young  man,  whom. 

9* 


104  VISIT  OP  THE  RAJA. 

the  other  called  ''Nawab,"  but  whose  name  I  could  not 
catch.  He  asked  after  *' Duke  Wellington,"  and  said  that 
his  father  had  been  well  known  to  him  during  the  war  in  the 
Deckan.  Mr.  Williams  asked  the  Cuttywar  llaja  some  ques- 
tions respecting  a  new  sect  of  Hindoos  which  had  arisen  in 
his  neighbourhood,  and  which  he  told  me  at  the  same  time  in 
English,  that  this  Raja  had  attempted  to  put  down  by  force  of 
arms,  but  had  not  been  allowed  to  do  so.  He  answered  in  ra- 
ther a  fretful  tone  that  "  there  were  too  many  of  them,"  and 
in  reply  to  a  question,  what  their  religion  was? — that  *'they 
had  no  religion  at  all,  but  a  hatred  of  their  superiors,  and  of 
all  lawful  authority."  I  asked  this  orthodox  old  gentleman  if 
he  could  give  me  any  information  about  the  vagabond  pilgrims 
whom  I  met  near  Gurmukteser,  and  who  described  themselves 
as  coming  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Ahmedebad.  He  said 
that  by  my  account  of  them  they  were  not  true  Hindoos:  but 
that  there  were  many  wild  people  in  the  district  who  profess- 
ed a  sort  of  Hindooism.  Those  whom  I  encountered  were 
probably  pilgrims;  and  if  I  had  drawn  a  line  in  the  sand 
across  their  path,  they  would  have  been  obliged  to  go  round 
one  of  its  extremities,  not  daring  to  step  over  it.  I  asked  if 
the  character  which  they  bore  of  being  '*  Thugs,"  was  deserv- 
ed.^ He  seemed  never  to  have  heard  of  the  name,  which  was, 
however,  perfectly  understood  by  the  Patans.  I  conclude, 
therefore,  that  the  practice  is  not  so  common  in  these  pro- 
vinces as  it  is  said  to  be  further  North. 

About  sun -set  the  Raja  came  in  state,  and  was  received 
accordingly  by  Mr.  Williams  in  a  very  large  dinner  tent, 
where  nearly  the  same  forms  took  place  (mutatis  mutandis) 
as  occurred  during  my  visit  to  him.  The  little  boy  was  put 
on  my  knee  to-day,  partly,  I  believe,  as  a  compliment,  and 
partly  to  give  the  Guicwar  an  opportunity  of  talking  over 
some  private  business  with  Mr.  Williams,  (as  I  afterwards 
learned,)  whom  he  informed  in  a  low  voice,  that  he  had 
a  daughter  a  year  older  than  this  little  boy  whom,  conse- 
quently, it  was  high  time  he  should  bestow  in  marriage  5 
that  he  had  an  excellent  match  for  her  in  the  son  of  a  Raja  in 
the  Deckan,  but  that  he  had  no  money  to  pay  the  necessary 
expenses;  and  hoped,  therefore,  that  the  government  would 
join  him  in  a  security  for  five  lacs  of  rupees,  in  order  that  he 
might  obtain  them  at  more  reasonable  interest  than  he  could 
otherwise  hope  to  do.  Mr.  Williams,  in  the  same  voice,  told 
him  that  the  government  he  much  feared,  would  never  con- 
sent to  such  a  measure  ;  on  which  the  Raja  came  down  in  his 
request  to  four  and  even  three  lacs,  his  wish  to  obtain  which 
last  sum,  Mr.  Williams  promised  to  transmit  to  government. 
This,  Mr.  Williams  afterwards  told  me,  is  a  specimen  of  the 


VISIT    OP    THE    RAJA.  105 

way  in  which  important  business  was  often  introduced  and  dis- 
cussed in  the  midst  of  crowds  and  ceremonial  parties.  On 
my  observing  that  the  wish  to  obtain  money  did  not  tally  with 
all  which  I  heard  of  the  Raja's  wealth  and  covetousness,  he 
answered  that,  the  Raja  always  distinguished  his  personal  sav- 
ings from  the  national  property  5  that  he  expected  his  daugh- 
ter to  be  portioned  out  by  the  state  5  but  that  if  he  could  get 
sufficient  security,  he  was  able  and  likely,  under  a  borrowed 
name,  himself  to  lend  the  money.  While  this  conversation 
was  going  on,  I  was  doing  my  best  to  entertain  my  little  friend, 
to  whom,  in  addition  to  the  present  destined  for  him  on  ac- 
count of  the  company,  I  gave  a  huge  native  coloured  drawing 
on  vellum,  of  the  Howa  Mahil  at  Jyepoor,  with  which  he  seem- 
ed greatly  pleased,  and  which,  by  the  explanation  of  the  dif- 
ferent objects  which  it  contained,  afforded  more  conversation 
than  it  would  have  been  otherwise  easy  for  me  to  keep  up  with 
him,  though  he  was  really  a  lively  and  forward  boy.  He  was 
fond  of  riding  both  horses  and  elephants,  but  the  "Sircar," 
sovereign,  (meaning  his  father)  had  not  yet  taken  him  out 
hunting.  He  had  begun  to  read  and  write  in  Maharatta,  but 
in  no  other  language,  and  was  fonder  of  drawing  pictures  than 
letters,  the  same  word,  "likna,"  being  used  both  for  draw- 
ing and  writing.  His  father,  who  engaged  as  he  was  on  the 
other  side,  contrived  very  dexterously  to  bestow  all  necessary 
attention  on  me,  bid  him  ask  me  about  my  journey,  but  I 
do  not  think  he  knew  any  of  the  names  of  places  which  I  men- 
tioned, except,  perhaps,  Calcutta  and  Delhi.  All  the  rest 
of  the  world  was,  in  his  vocabulary,  *'Belattee." 

There  was  a  good  deal  of  Persian  singing  and  instrumental 
music,  the  character  of  which  does  not  seem  a  want  of  har- 
mony, but  dullness  and  languor.  The  airs  were  sung  sotto 
voce ;  the  instruments,  chiefly  guitars,  were  low-toned  and 
struck  in  a  monotonous  manner  5  and  the  effect  intended  to  be 
produced  seemed  rather  repose  and  luxurious  languor,  than 
any  more  ardent  or  animated  feeling.  One  man,  a  native  of 
Lucknow,  had  a  good  natural  voice,  and  two  of  the  women 
sang  prettily.  The  tunes  had  first  parts  only.  The  Nach 
women  were,  as  usual,  ugly,  huddled  up  in  huge  bundles  of 
red  petticoats ;  and  their  exhibition  as  dull  and  insipid  to  an 
European  taste,  as  could  well  be  conceived.  In  fact,  nobody 
in  the  room  seemed  to  pay  them  any  attention,  all  being  en- 
gaged in  conversation,  though  in  an  under  voice,  and  only  with 
their  near  neighbours.  About  eight,  the  Raja  went  away,  and 
we  sate  down  to  dinner,  but  not  till  I  had  discovered  that  the 
greater  part  of  the  camels  which  the  Raja  had  promised  to  lend 
me  for  my  journey,  had  not  yet  arrived,  and  that  it  would  be 
impossible  for  me  to  send  off,  as  I  had  intended,  my  baggage 


106  MOUNTAIN   RAVINES. 

and  servants  that  night.  I  now  regretted  that  I  had  dismiss- 
ed the  Hindoostanee  elephants  and  camels,  but  there  was  no 
use  in  repining. 

March  25. — This  morning  Dr.  Smith  and  I  were  up  at  four 
o'clock,  and,  with  a  good  deal  of  exertion,  succeeded  in  as- 
sembling the  camels  and  bearers,  and  fairly  setting  our  ser- 
vants on  their  way.  We  ourselves,  remained  till  the  evening, 
and  then  set  off*  to  join  the  camp.  Archdeacon  Barnes  accom- 
panied me  and  Mr.  Williams  and  several  other  gentlemen 
rode  out  with  me  three  or  four  miles  to  a  boolee,  at  which  I 
found,  to  my  surprise,  that  in  addition  to  the  four  Bombay 
troopers  whom  he  had  sent  me,  before  we  were  joined  by  Bap- 
poojee  Maharatta  (his  Dewan)  with  six  silver  sticks  and  spear- 
men, and  above  fifty  Guicwar  horse,  with  their  standard  and 
nigari.  I  pleaded  that  these  were  really  unnecessary,  consi- 
dering the  numerous  guard  of  sepoys,  fifty  men,  whom  I  had 
sent  on  with  the  baggage.  He  answered,  however,  that  though 
less  might  in  Hindostan,  here  these  outward  forms  were  both 
desirable  and  necessary  !  To  this  I  could  say  nothing,  and 
proceeded  on  my  march ;  though  I  could  not  help  thinking  that 
since  the  days  of  Thomas  a  Becket  or  Cardinal  Wolsey,  an 
English  Bishop  had  seldom  been  so  formidably  attended. 
From  Mr.  Williams  I  had  received  in  every  respect  very 
gratifying  attention  and  kindness  j  and  it  ^yas  a  great  satisfac- 
tion to  me  to  know  that  he  intended  to  visit  Bombay  at  the 
same  time  with  myself,  and  that  my  dear  wife  also  would 
know  and  like  him. 

Our  road  for  about  eiglit  miles  lay  over  a  highly  cultivated 
country,  with  many  round-topped  trees  and  high  green  hedges; 
the  villages,  v/hich  were  numerous,  were  all  more  in  the  Eu- 
ropean than  the  Indian  style  ;  and,  to  complete  the  likeness, 
had  large  stacks  of  hay  in  their  neighbourhood  piled  up  and 
thatched  like  those  in  England.  The  custom  of  keeping  hay 
as  fodder  does  not  exist  in  any  other  part  of  India  which  I 
have  seen,  but  is  here  universal.  As  day  closed  we  left  the 
open  country,  and  entered  some  extremely  deep  and  narrow 
ravines  with  sides  of  crumbling  earth,  the  convexity  of  which 
was  evidently  the  work  of  the  waters  of  the  monsoon  in  their 
annual  course  to  the  Mhye.  The  summits  of  these  steep  banks 
were  overgrown  with  brushwood;  nor  could  a  more  favoura- 
ble place  be  desired  to  favour  the  spring  of  a  tiger,  or  the 
arrows  of  an  ambushed  band  of  robbers.  Our  numbers,  our 
noise,  and  the  torches  which  some  of  the  servants  carried  dur- 
ing this  part  of  our  journey,  were  enough,  I  should  conceive, 
to  keep  either  description  of  ferocious  animals  at  a  distance. 
Both  kinds,  however,  are  very  abundant  along  the  banks  of 
Mhye  and  its  neighbourhood  j  passengers  had  been  very  re- 


FORDING    THE    MHYE.  107 

cently  stopped  and  plundered  here  by  Bheels^  and  two  months 
ago  a  tjger  had  carried  off  a  man  from  a  numerous  convoy  of 
artillery  on  its  march  to  Kairah.  On  the  whole,  as  one  of  the 
party  observed,  *'  on  a  road  like  this,  and  in  such  a  country, 
too  many  guards  were  better  than  too  few."  After  about  four 
miles  and  a  half  of  this  kind  of  road,  we  arrived  on  the  banks  of 
the  Mhye,  high,  precipitous,  and  woody,  with  a  broad  bright 
stream,  in  spite  of  all  the  recent  drought,  wandering  in  a  still 
wider  bed  of  gravel  and  sand.  Here  too  I  found  that  the 
watchful  kindness  of  Mr.  Williams  had  provided  for  us,  in 
giving  notice  of  my  coming  to  the  Collector  of  the  Kairah  dis- 
trict, who  had  sent  some  fishermen  acquainted  with  the  ford, 
and  a  body  of  Bheels  in  the  pay  of  the  police,  to  assist  us  in 
crossing,  and  guide  us  to  the  encampment,  which  was  about 
three  miles  further  at  a  village  named  Wasnud. 

Nothing  could  be  more  picturesque  than  this  "passage  of 
the  Granicus."  The  moon  was  sufficiently  bright  to  show  the 
wild  and  woodland  character  of  the  landscape,  and  the  bright- 
ness and  ripple  of  the  water,  without  overpowering  the  eft'ect 
of  the  torches  as  they  issued  from  the  wood,  and  the  other 
torches  which  our  guides  carried,  and  which  shone  on  groupes 
of  men,  horses,  and  camels,  as  wild  and  singular  as  were  ever 
assembled  in  the  fancy  of  a  Salvator  Rosa.  I  thought  of 
Walter  Scott's  account  of  the  salmon  fishing;  but  this  show 
exceeded  that  as  much  as  the  naked  limbs,  plaited  elf-locks, 
and  loose  mantles  of  the  Bheels,  with  their  bows,  arrows,  and 
swords,  the  polished  helmets  of  our  regular  troopers,  the  broad, 
brocaded,  swallow-tailed  banner  of  the  Guicwar,  and  flie  rude 
but  gorgeous  chivalry  of  his  cavaliers  on  long-tailed  horses 
and  in  long  cotton  caftans,  their  shields  behind  their  backs, 
their  battle-axes  pendent  from  their  saddle-bows,  and  long 
spears  or  harquebuzes  with  lighted  matches  over  their  shoul- 
ders, surpassed  the  most  picturesque  assortment  of  hodden 
gray,  blue  bonnets,  and  fish-spears.  The  water,  though  broad, 
was  no  where  deep.  It  ran,  however,  with  a  brisker  stream 
than  from  having  seen  its  exhausted  condition  nearer  to  its 
source  I  had  expected.  But  on  this  side  of  Cheeta  Talao  it 
receives  many  other  mountain-streams;  and  some  of  these,  it 
is  reasonable  to  suppose,  have  escaped  better  in  the  general 
drought,  and  saved  the  credit  of  their  suzerain  before  his  ap- 
pearance in  the  court  of  Neptune. 

We  arrived  at  Wasnud  heartily  tired  both  man  and  beast; 
the  heat  of  the  day  had  been  intense,  and  our  evening  march 
had  led  us  through  places  where  no  breeze  blew;  my  little 
Arab  horse  Nedjeed,  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  comfortable  bed 
of  straw  provided  for  him,  sunk  down  on  it  like  a  dog,  and 
was  asleep  before  the  saddle  was  well  oflf  his  back.  The  Bheels 


108  BHEEL    WATCHMEN. 

were  to  be  our  watchmen  as  well  as  guides;  and  their  shrill 
calls  from  one  to  the  other  were  heard  all  night.  We  were 
told  not  to  be  surprised  at  this  choice,  since  these  poor  thieves 
are,  when  trusted,  the  trustiest  of  men,  and  of  all  sentries  the 
most  wakeful  and  indefatigable.  They  and  the  Kholees,  a 
race  almost  equally  wild,  are  uniformly  preferred  in  Guzerat 
for  the  service  of  the  police,  and  as  durwans  to  gentlemen's 
houses  and  gardens.  All  such  persons  are  here  called  sepoys, 
and  with  more  accuracy  than  the  regular  troops,  inasmuch  as 
their  weapons  are  still  really  the  bow  and  arrow,  "  sip," 
whence  the  Asiatic  soldier  derives  his  appellation. 

March  25. — We  resumed  our  march  at  the  usual  hour,  and 
went,  through  a  well-cultivated,  enclosed,  and  prettily  wooded 
country,  eleven  miles  to  Emaad,  a  small  village  with  a  large 
tank  not  quite  dry.  In  our  way  we  were  met  by  twenty  of 
the  Chuprassees,  or,  to  use  the  language  of  the  country,  the 
sepoys,  of  the  collector  Mr.  Williamson,  all  of  the  Kholee 
caste,  rather  short,  but  broad-set  and  muscular  men,  with  a 
harshness,  not  to  say  ferocity,  in  the  countenances  of  many 
of  them  which  remarkably  differed  from  the  singularly  mild 
and  calm  physiognomy  usually  met  with  in  the  other  side  of 
India.  They  were  well  and  smartly  dressed  in  green  and 
scarlet  kirtles,  with  black  turbans,  had  every  man  his  small 
round  buckler  and  sheaf  of  arrows  at  his  back,  his  sword  and 
dagger  by  his  side,  and  long  bow  in  his  hand,  and  excepting 
in  their  dusky  complexions,  were  no  bad  representatives  of 
Robin  Hood  and  his  sturdy  yeomen.  About  half-way  we  were 
overtaken  by  Mr.  Williamson  himself,  who  rode  with  us  to 
our  camp,  as  did  also  Captain  Ovans,  who  was  encamped  near 
and  employed  in  taking  a  survey  of  the  country.  This  gen- 
tleman brought  with  him  some  specimens  of  his  maps,  which 
are  extremely  minute,  extending  to  the  smallest  details  usu- 
ally expressed  in  the  survey  of  a  gentleman's  property  in 
England,  with  a  copious  field  book,  and  a  particular  statement 
of  the  average  number  of  farms,  tanks,  hills,  orchards,  &c.  in 
each  townland.  The  execution  of  the  maps  is  very  neat,  and 
their  drawing  said  to  be  wonderfully  accurate,  though  the 
mapping,  measurement,  and  angles  are,  as  well  as  the  draw- 
ing, by  native  assistants.  All  which  Captain  Ovans  seems  to 
do  is  generally  to  superintend  their  operations,  to  give  them 
instructions  in  cases  of  difficulty,  to  notice  any  error  which  he 
may  discover  in  their  calculations,  and  to  cover  with  ink  and 
finish  for  the  inspection  of  government  the  maps  which  they 
delineate  in  pencil.  Their  neatness,  delicacy,  and  patience 
in  the  use  of  the  different  instruments  and  the  pencil,  he  spoke 
of  as  really  extraordinary;  and  he  was  no  less  satisfied  with 
their  intelligence,  acuteness,  and  readiness  in  the  acquisition 


INHABITANTS  OF  GUZERAT.  109 

of  the  necessary  degree  of  mathematical  science.  From  these 
gentlemen  I  gleaned  several  interesting  facts  about  the  inhabi- 
tants of  this  country. 

Its  wilder  parts  are  pretty  generally  occupied  by  the  Bheels, 
concerning  whom  I  am  able  to  add  little  to  what  I  said  before. 
The  other  and  more  settled  inhabitants  are  either  Mussul- 
mans, of  whom  the  number  is  but  small 5  Hindoo  bunyans; 
Rajpoots  of  a  degenerate  description,  and  chiefly  occupied  in 
cultivating  the  soil 5  Maharattas,  who  are  not  by  any  means 
numerous  except  in  and  about  the  Guicwar's  courts  and  Kho- 
lees,  or,  as  they  are  pretty  generally  called.  Coolies.  These 
last  form  perhaps  two-thirds  of  the  population,  and  are  con- 
sidered by  public  men  in  Guzerat  as  the  original  inhabitants 
of  the  country,  a  character  which,  I  know  not  why,  they  re- 
fuse to  the  Bheels,  who  here,  as  in  Malwah,  seem  to  have  the 
best  title  to  it.  I  suspect,  indeed,  myself,  that  the  Coolies, 
are  only  civilized  Bheels,  who  have  laid  aside  some  of  the 
wild  habits  of  their  ancestors,  and  who  have  learned,  more 
particularly,  to  conform  in  certain  respects,  such  as  abstinence 
from  beef,  &c.  to  their  Hindoo  neighbours.  They  themselves 
pretend  to  be  descended  from  the  Rajpoots,  but  this  is  a  claim 
continually  made  by  wild  and  warlike  tribes  all  over  India, 
and  it  is  made  more  particularly,  by  the  Puharree  villagers  at 
the  foot  of  Rajmahal  who  have  embraced  the  Hindoo  religion; 
and  that  the  Coolies  themselves  do  not  believe  their  claim,  is 
apparent  from  the  fact  that  they  neither  wear  the  silver  badge, 
nor  the  red  turban.  Be  this  as  it  may,  they  are  acknowledged 
by  the  Hindoos  as  their  kindred,  which  the  Bheels  never  are: 
and  though  their  claim  of  being  children  of  the  sun  is  not 
allowed  by  the  Rajpoots  who  live  among  them,  there  have 
been  instances  in  which  intermarriages  have  taken  place  be- 
tween Maharattas  of  high  rank  and  the  families  of  some  of 
their  most  powerful  chieftains. 

Their  ostensible  and,  indeed,  their  chief  employment,  is 
afi;riculture,  and  they  are  said  to  be  often  industrious  farmers 
and  labourers,  and,  while  kindly  treated,  to  pay  their  rent  to 
j^overnment  as  well,  at  least,  as  their  Rajpoot  neighbours. 
They  live,  however,  under  their  own  Thakoors,  whose  au- 
thority alone  they  willingly  acknowledge,  and  pay  little  re- 
spect to  the  laws,  unless  when  it  suits  their  interest,  or  they 
are  constrained  by  the  presence  of  an  armed  force.  In  other 
lespects  they  are  one  of  the  most  turbulent  and  predatory 
tribes  in  India,  and  with  the  Bheels,  make  our  tenure  of 
(juzerat  more  disturbed,  and  the  maintenance  of  our  authority 
more  expensive  there,  than  in  any  other  district  of  the  East- 
ern empire.  The  cutcherries,  and  even  the  dwelling-houses 
of  the  civil  servants  of  the  company,  are  uniformly  placed 


110  CHARACTER  AND  DRESS  OP  THE  COOLIES. 

within,  instead  of  without,  the  cities  and  towns,  a  custom 
ruinous  to  health  and  comfort,  but  accounted  a  necessary 
precaution  against  the  desperate  attacks  to  which  they  might 
otherwise  be  liable.  The  magistrates  and  collectors  have  a 
larger  force  of  armed  men  in  their  employ  than  any  others  of 
the  same  rank  whom  I  have  met  with;  and  the  regular  troops, 
and  even  the  European  cavalry  are  continually  called  out 
against  them.  Yet  in  no  country  are  the  roads  so  insecure, — 
in  none  are  forays  and  plundering  excursions  of  every  kind 
more  frequent;  or  a  greater  proportion  of,  what  would  be 
called  in  Europe,  the  gentry  and  landed  proprietors,  addicted 
to  acts  of  violence  and  bloodshed.  In  these  plundering  parties 
they  often  display  a  very  desperate  courage;  and  it  is  to  their 
honour,  that,  rude  and  lawless  as  they  are,  they  do  not  appa- 
rently delight  in  blood  for  its  own  sake,  and  neither  mutilate, 
torture,  nor  burn  the  subjects  of  their  cupidity  or  revenge, 
like  the  far  worse  "  decoits"  of  Bengal  and  Ireland. 

They  are  hardy,  stout  men,  particularly  those  of  the  Cat- 
tywar  and  Cutch  districts.  Their  usual  dress  is  a  petticoat 
round  the  waist,  like  that  of  the  Bheels,  and  a  cotton  cloth 
wrapped  round  their  heads  and  shoulders,  which,  when  they 
wish  to  be  smart,  they  gather  up  into  a  very  large  white  tur- 
ban. In  cold  weather,  or  when  drest,  they  add  a  quilted 
cotton  kirtle,  or  *'lebada,"  over  which  they  wear  a  shirt  of 
mail,  with  vant-braces  and  gauntlets,  and  never  consider 
themselves  as  fit  to  go  abroad  without  a  sword,  buckler,  bow 
and  arrows,  to  which  their  horsemen  add  a  long  spear  and 
battle-axe.  The  cotton  lebada  is  generally  stained  and  iron- 
moulded  by  the  mail  shirt,  and,  as  might  be  expected,  these 
marks,  being  tokens  of  their  martial  occupation,  are  reckoned 
honourable,  insomuch  that  their  young  warriors  often  counter- 
feit them  with  oil  or  soot,  and  do  their  best  to  get  rid  as  soon 
as  possible  of  the  burgher-like  whiteness  of  a  new  dress.  This 
is  said  to  be  the  real  origin  of  the  story  told  by  Hamilton,  that 
the  Coolies  despise  and  revile  all  cleanly  and  decent  clothing 
as  base  and  effeminate.  In  other  respects  they  are  fond  of 
finery;  their  shields  are  often  very  handsome,  with  silver 
bosses,  and  composed  of  rhinoceros  hide;  their  battle-axes 
richly  inlaid,  and  their  spears  surrounded  with  many  succes- 
sive rings  of  silver.  Their.bows  are  like  those  of  the  Bheels, 
but  stronger,  and  in  better  order;  and  their  arrows  are  carried 
in  a  quiver  of  red  and  embroidered  leather.  In  their  ma- 
rauding expeditions  they  often  use  great  secrecy,  collecting 
in  the  night  at  the  will  of  some  popular  chieftain,  communi- 
cated generally  by  the  circulation  of  a  certain  token,  known 
only  to  those  concerned,  like  the  fiery  cross  of  the  Scottish 
highlanders.    They  frequently  leave  their  families  in  complete 


SWAAMEE  NARAIN.  Ill 

ignorance  as  to  wliere  or  why  they  are  going;  and  the  only 
way  in  which,  sliould  one  of  their  number  fall  in  battle,  the 
survivors  communicate  his  loss  to  his  widow  or  parents,  is  by 
throwing  before  his  door  some  sprigs  of  the  peepul,  plucked 
and  disposed  in  a  particular  form. 

On  other  occasions,  however,  their  opposition  to  law  has 
been  sufficiently  open  and  daring.  The  districts  of  Cutch 
and  Cattywar  have  ever  been,  more  or  less  in  a  state  of  re- 
bellion; and  neither  the  regency  of  the  former  state,  nor  the 
Guicwar,  as  feudal  sovereign  of  the  latter,  nor  the  English 
government  in  the  districts  adjoining  to  both,  which  are  under 
their  control,  have  ever  got  through  a  year  without  one  or 
more  sieges  of  different  forts  and  fastnesses. 

Some  good  had  been  done,  Mr.  Williamson  said,  among 
many  of  these  wild  people,  by  the  preaching  and  popularity  of 
the  Hindoo  reformer,  Swaamee  Narain,  who  had  been  men- 
tioned to  me  at  Baroda.  His  morality  was  said  to  be  far  better 
than  any  which  could  be  learned  from  the  vShaster.  He  preach- 
ed a  great  degree  of  purity,  forbidding  his  disciples  so  much  as 
to  look  on  any  wonian  whom  they  passed.  He  condemned 
theft  and  bloodshed;  and  those  villages  and  districts  which  had 
received  him,  from  being  among  the  worst,  were  now  among 
the  best  and  most  orderly  in  the  provinces.  Nor  was  this  all, 
insomuch  as  he  was  said  to  have  destroyed  the  yoke  of  caste, 
— to  have  preached  one  God,  and,  in  short,  to  have  made  so 
considerable  approaches  to  the  truth,  that  I  could  not  but  hope 
he  might  be  an  appointed  instrument  to  prepare  the  way  for 
the  gospel. 

While  I  was  listening  with  much  interest  to  Mr.  William- 
son's account  of  this  man,  six  persons  came  to  the  tent,  four 
in  the  dress  of  peasants  orbunyans;  one,  a  young  man  with  a 
large  white  turban,  and  the  quilted  lebada  of  a  Coolie,  but 
clean  and  decent;  with  a  handsome  sword  and  shield,  and 
other  marks  of  rustic  wealth;  and  the  sixth,  an  old  Mussul- 
man, with  a  white  beard,  and  pretty  much  the  appearance, 
dress,  and  manner  of  an  ancient  serving-man.     After  offering 
some  sugar  and  sweetmeats,  as  their  nuzzur,  and  as  usual, 
sitting  down  on  the  ground,  one  of  the  peasants  began  to  my 
exceeding  surprise  and  delight,    "Pundit  Swaamee  Narain, 
sends  his  salaam,"  and  proceeded  to  say  that  the  person  whom 
I  so  much  desired  to  see  was  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  asked 
permission  to  call  on  me  next  day.     I,  of  course,  returned  a 
favourable  answer,  and  stated  with  truth,  that  I  greatly  desir- 
ed his  acquaintance,  and  had  heard  much  good  of  him.  I  asked 
if  they  were  his  disciples,  and  was  answered  in  the  affirma- 
tive.   The  first  spokesman  told  me,  that  the  young  man  now  in 
company,  was  the  eldest  son  of  a  Coolie  Thakoor,  whose  fathei* 
Vol,  II.— 10 


113  ADAWLUT    COURTS. 

was  one  ot  the  Pundit's  great  friends,  that  he  himself  was  a 
Rajpoot  and  Ryut,  that  the  old  man  in  green  was  a  Mussul- 
man sepoy  in  the  Thakoor's  service,  and  sent  to  attend  on  his 
young  master.  He  added,  that  though  of  different  castes, 
they  were  all  disciples  of  Swaamee  Narain,  and  taught  to  re- 
gard each  other  as  brethren.  Tliey  concluded  by  asking  me 
when  I  was  to  go  next  day,  and  appointed  in  their  teacner's 
name,  that  he  would  visit  me  at  Nerriad  in  the  forenoon:  they 
then  took  their  leave,  I  having  first  embraced  the  Thakoor, 
and  sent  my  salaam  both  to  his  father  and  his  Gooroo. 

On  asking  Mr.  Williamson  about  the  state  of  knowledge  in 
this  province,  and  the  facility  which  it  afforded  for  establishing 
schools,  he  said,  that  there  were  large  schools  in  most  of  the 
principal  towns,  where  the  children  of  the  bunyans  learnt 
writing,  reading,  accounts,  and  such  portions  of  the  national 
religion  as  their  caste  is  allowed  to  receive.  But  there  was  no 
gratuitous  instruction j  and  the  Ryuts  from  poverty,  and  the 
Coolie  Thakoors  from  indifference,  very  seldom,  if  ever,  sent 
their  children.  They  had  no  objection,  however,  except  that 
of  expense;  and  he  did  not  doubt  that  if  government,  or  any 
religious  society  would  institute  schools,  they  would  be  at- 
tended with  thankfulness  and  punctuality. 

I  asked  him  if  the  government  were  popular:  he  did  not 
think  that  it  was  particularly  otherwise,  and  ascribed  the  va- 
rious tumults  and  rising  of  the  Guzerattees  to  their  famines, 
which  frequently  reduced  whole  families  and  villages  to  the 
state  of  ''  broken  men,"  and  to  their  long  previous  habits  of 
misrule  and  anarchy,  rather  than  to  any  political  grievances. 
The  valuation  of  their  lands,  he  said,  was  moderate;  it  was 
only  from  year  to  year,  but  in  a  country  where  the  crops 
were  so  precarious,  a  longer  settlement  was  not  desired 
by  the  people  themselves.  Even  according  to  the  present 
system,  government  were  often  compelled  to  make  great 
abatements,  and,  on  most  occasions,  had  shown  themselves 
indulgent  masters. 

The  greatest  evil  of  the  land  here,  as  elsewhere  in  India, 
is  the  system  of  the  Adawlut  Courts,  their  elaborate  and  in- 
tricate machinery,  their  intolerable  and  expensive  delays,  and 
the  severity  of  their  debtor  and  creditor  laws.  Even  in  the 
Adawlut,  however,  a  very  essential  improvement  had  been  in- 
troduced by  Mr.  Elphinstone  in  discarding  the  Persian  lan- 
guage, and  appointing  all  proceedings  to  be  in  that  of  Guze- 
rat.  Still  there  remained  many  evils,  and  in  a  land  so  eaten 
up  by  poverty  on  the  one  hand,  and  usury  on  the  other,  the 
most  calamitous  results  continually  followed,  and  the  most 
bitter  indignation  was  often  excited  by  the  judgments,  eject- 
ments, and  other  acts  of  the  court,  which  though  intended 
only  to  do  justice  between  man  and  man,  yet  frequently  de- 


NERRIAD.  113 

populated  villages,  undid  ancient  families,  pulled  down  men's 
hereditary  and  long  possessed  houses  over  their  heads,  and 
made  the  judges  hated  and  feared  by  the  great  body  of  the 
people,  as  practising  severities  in  the  recovery  of  private 
debts,  which  none  of  the  native  governors,  however  otherwise 
oppressive  either  ventured  to  do,  or  thought  of  doing.  One 
good  effect  has  indeed  followed,  that  by  making  debt  more 
easy  to  recover,  the  rate  of  interest  has  been  lessened.  But 
this  is  a  poor  compensation  for  the  evils  of  a  system  which, 
to  pay  a  debt,  no  matter  how  contracted,  strips  the  weaver  of 
his  loom,  the  husbandman  of  his  plough,  and  pulls  the  roof 
from  the  castle  of  the  feudal  chieftain,  and  which,  when  a 
village  is  once  abandoned  by  its  inhabitants  in  a  time  of  fa- 
mine, makes  it  next  to  impossible  for  those  inhabitants,  who 
are  all  more  or  less  in  debt,  to  return,  in  better  times,  to  their 
houses  and  lands  again. 

The  hot  wind  blew  fiercely  all  the  day,  and,  though  it  ceas- 
ed at  night,  was  followed  by  a  calm  more  close  and  oppres- 
sive still.  I  had  certainly  no  conception  that  any  where  in 
India  the  month  of  March  could  otFer  such  a  furnace-like  cli- 
mate. The  servants  complained  of  it,  and  hoped  that  I  should 
not  stay  long  in  this  province;  if  I  did  they  were  sure  that  we 
should  all  die:  and  in  truth  their  apprehensions  seemed  not 
altogether  unreasonable.  Here,  indeed,  I  was  far,  very  far, 
from  regretting  that  my  wife  and  children  were  not  with  me  5 
and  I  rejoiced,  on  the  other  hand,  that  as  Guzerat  was  some 
time  or  other  to  be  visited,  I  was  now  getting  over  the  most 
remote,  most  expensive,  and  certainly  not  the  most  interest- 
ing or  most  healthy  part  of  my  Diocese,  in  the  only  visitation 
journey,  (I  hope,)  during  which  I  am  likely  to  be  separated 
from  them. 

The  fertility  of  Guzerat,  in  favourable  years,  is  great,  par- 
ticularly in  sugar  and  tobacco;  and  the  revenue  of  the  Collec- 
torate  at  Kairah  is  said  to  exceed,  at  such  times,  37  lacs,  an 
enormous  sum  for  so  small  a  district,  but  from  which  many 
deductions  must  be  made  on  account  of  the  strangely  frequent 
droughts  to  which  all  this  part  of  India  is  liable,  and  the  very 
large  police  and  military  establishments  which  its  disordered 
state,  and  the  martial  habits  of  the  people  require. 

March  26. — We  marched  to  Nerriad,  a  large  and  well-built 
town,  containing,  as  its  Cutwal  told  me,  about  15,000  people. 
The  neighbourhood  is  very  highly  cultivated,  and  full  of  groves 
of  fruit-trees,  and  large  tanks.  Of  the  latter,  the  greater 
number  are,  unhappily  now  dry.  We  were  lodged,  by  Mr. 
Williamson's  order,  in  his  cutcherry,  a  part  of  which  is  used 
fgr  the  occasional  reception  of  himself  and  his  friends.  It 
consists  of  an  enclosure  surrounded  by  a  high  wall  and  build- 


114  VISIT  FROM  SWAAMEE  NARAIN. 

ings  of  various  descriptions  in  the  heart  of  the  town,  and  cal- 
culated to  hold  and  shelter,  conveniently,  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  horses  and  people.  The  bungalow  itself,  as  it  is  call- 
ed, is  a  tall,  long,  shallow  building,  containing  on  the  ground- 
floor  two  dark  and  close  apartments,  with  a  staircase  between 
them,  and  above,  two  more,  full  of  windows,  without  veran- 
dahs or  any  other  means  of  shutting  out  the  sun  or  hot  wind, 
and  so  near  the  tiled  roof  that  nothing  could  well  be  hotter  in 
weather  like  the  present,  and  we  much  regretted  that  we  had 
not  adhered  to  our  old  system  of  pitching  the  tents,  with  tat- 
ties, outside  the  town.  The  heat  was  great  all  day,  and  even 
before  the  sun  was  up. 

About  eleven  o'clock  I  had  the  expected  visit  from  Swaamee 
Narain,  to  my  interview  with  whom  I  had  looked  forward  with 
an  anxiety  and  eagerness  which,  if  he  had  known  it,  would, 
perhaps,  have  flattered  him.  He  came  in  a  somewhat  differ- 
ent style  from  all  which  I  expected,  having  with  him  near  200 
horsemen,  mostly  well-armed  with  matchlocks  and  swords, 
and  several  of  them  with  coats  of  mail  and  spears.  Besides 
them  he  had  a  large  rabble  on  foot,  with  bows  and  arrows, 
and  when  I  considered  that  I  had  myself  an  escort  of  more 
than  fifty  horse  and  fifty  musquets  and  bayonets,  I  could  not 
help  smiling;  though  my  sensations  were  in  some  degree  pain- 
ful and  humiliating,  at  the  idea  of  two  religious  teachers  meet- 
ing at  the  head  of  little  armies,  and  filling  the  city  which  was 
the  scene  of  their  interview,  with  the  rattling  of  quivers,  the 
clash  of  shields,  and  the  tramp  of  the  war-horse.  Had  our 
troops  been  opposed  to  each  other,  mine,  though  less  numer- 
ous, would  have  been,  doubtless,  far  more  effective  from  the 
superiority  of  arms  and  discipline.  But,  in  moral  grandeur, 
what  a  difference  was  there  between  his  troop  and  mine. 
Mine  neither  knew  me,  nor  cared  for  me;  they  escorted  me 
faithfully,  and  would  have  defended  me  bravely,  because  they 
were  ordered  by  their  superiors  to  do  so,  and  as  they  would 
have  done  for  any  other  stranger  of  sufficient  worldly  rank  to 
make  such  an  attendance  usual.  The  guards  of  Swaamee 
Narain  were  his  own  disciples  and  enthusiastic  admirers, 
men  who  had  voluntarily  repaired  to  hear  his  lessons,  who 
now  took  a  pride  in  doing  him  honour,  and  who  would  cheer- 
fully fight  to  the  last  drop  of  blood  rather  than  suffer  a  fringe 
of  his  garment  to  be  handled  roughly.  In  the  parish  of  Hod- 
iiet,  there  were  once,  perhaps,  a  few  honest  countrymen  who 
felt  something  like  this  for  me;  but  how  long  a  time  must 
elapse  before  any  Christian  Teacher  in  India  can  hope  to  be 
thus  loved  and  honoured!  Yet  surely  tliere  is  some  encour- 
agement to  patient  labour  which  a  Christian  Minister  may  de- 
rive from"  the  success  of  such  men  as  these  in  India, — inasmuch 


VISIT  PROM  SWAAMEE  NARAIN.  115 

as  where  others  can  succeed  in  obtaining  a  favourable  hearing 
for  doctrines,  in  many  respects,  at  variance  with  the  general 
and  received  system  of  Hindooism, — the  time  may  surely  be 
expected,  through  God's  blessing,  when  our  endeavours  also, 
may  receive  their  fruit,  and  our  hitherto  almost  barren  Church 
may  "  keep  house,  and  be  a  joyful  mother  of  children." 

The  armed  men  who  attended  Swaamee  Narain  were  under 
the  authority,  as  it  appeared,  of  a  venerable  old  man,  of  large 
stature,  with  a  long  gray  beard  and  most  voluminous  turban, 
the  father  of  the  young  Thakoor  who  had  called  on  me  the  day 
before.  He  came  into  the  room  first,  and,  after  the  usual  em- 
brace, introduced  the  holy  man  himself,  who  was  a  middle- 
sized,  thin,  and  plain-looking  person,  about  my  own  age,  with 
a  mild  and  diffident  expression  of  countenance,  but  nothing 
about  him  indicative  of  any  extraordinary  talent.  I  seated 
him  on  a  chair  at  my  right  hand^  and  offered  two  more  to  the 
Thakoor  and  his  son,  of  which,  however,  they  did  not  avail 
themselves  without  first  placing  their  hands  under  the  feet  of 
their  spiritual  guide,  and  then  pressing  them  reverently  to 
their  foreheads  Others  of  the  principal  disciples,  to  the  num- 
ber of  twenty  or  thirty,  seated  themselves  on  the  ground,  and 
several  of  my  own  Mussulman  servants,  who  seemed  much 
interested  in  what  was  going  on,  thrust  in  their  faces  at  the 
door,  or  ranged  themselves  behind  me.  After  the  usual  mu- 
tual compliments,  1  said  that  I  had  heard  much  good  of  him, 
and  the  good  doctrine  which  he  preached  among  the  poor 
people  of  Guzerat,  and  that  I  greatly  desired  his  acquaintance; 
that  I  regretted  that  I  knew  Hindoostanee  so  imperfectly,  but 
that  I  should  be  very  glad,  so  far  as  my  knowledge  of  the 
language  allowed,  and  by  the  interpretation  of  friends,  to  learn 
what  he  believed  on  religious  matters,  and  to  tell  him  what  I 
myself  believed,  and  that  if  he  would  come  and  see  me  at 
Kairah,  where  we  should  have  more  leisure,  I  would  have  a 
tent  pitched  for  him,  and  treat  him  like  a  brother.  I  said  this 
because  I  was  very  earnestly  desirous  of  getting  him  a  copy 
of  the  Scriptures,  of  which  I  had  none  with  me,  in  the  Nagree 
character,  and  persuading  liim  to  read  them;  and  because  I 
had  some  further  hopes  of  inducing  him  to  go  with  me  to  Bom- 
bay, where  I  hoped  that  by  conciliatory  treatment,  and  the 
conversations  to  which  I  might  introduce  him  with  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  established  in  that  neighbourhood,  I  might 
do  him  more  good  than  I  could  otherwise  liope  to  do. 

I  saw  that  both  he,  and  still  more,  his  disciples,  were  highly 
pleased  by  the  invitation  which  I  gave  him,  but  he  said,  in  re- 
ply,'that  his  life  was  one  of  very  little  leisure,  that  he  had 
5000  disciples  now  attending  on  his  preaching  in  the  neigh- 
bouring villages,  and  nearly  50,000  in  different  parts  of  Gu- 

10* 


116  DOCTRINE    OF    SWAAMEE    NARAIN. 

xerki,  that  a  great  number  of  these  were  to  assemble  together 
in  the  course  of  next  week,  on  occasion  of  his  brother's  son 
coming  of  age  to  receive  the  braliminical  string,  but  that  if  I 
staid  long  enough  in  the  neighbourhood  to  allow  him  to  get 
this  engagement  over,  he  would  gladly  come  again  to  see  me. 
*'In  the  mean  time,"  I  said,  ^Miave  you  any  objection  to 
communicate  some  part  of  your  doctrine  now?"  It  was  evi- 
dently^ what  he  came  to  do,  and  his  disciples  very  visibly  ex- 
ulted in  the  opportunity  of  his,  perhaps,  converting  me.  He 
began,  indeed,  well,  professing  to  believe  in  one  only  God, 
the  Maker  of  all  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  who  filled  all 
space,  upheld  and  governed  all  things,  and  more  particularly 
dwelt  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  diligently  sought  him;  but  he 
alarmed  me  by  calling  the  God  whom  he  worshipped  Krishna^ 
and  by  saying  that  he  had  come  down  to  earth  in  ancient 
times,  had  been  put  to  death  by  wicked  men  through  magic, 
and  that  since  his  time  many  false  revelations  had  been  pre- 
tended, and  many  false  divinities  set  up.  This  declaration,  I 
say  alarmed  me,  because  notwithstanding  the  traits  of  resem- 
blance which  it  bore  to  the  history  of  our  Lord;  traits,  which 
are  in  fact  to  be  found  in  the  midst  of  all  the  uncleanness  and 
folly^  in  the  popular  legends  respecting  Krishna,  I  did  not  like 
the  introduction  of  a  name  so  connected  with  many  obscene 
and  monstrous  follies.  I  observed,  therefore,  that  I  always 
had  supposed,  that  Hindoos  called  the  God  and  Father  of  all, 
not  Krishna,  but  Brihm,  and  I  wished,  therefore,  to  know 
whether  his  God  was  Brihm,  or  somebody  distinct  from  him? 
Tlie  name  of  Brihm  appeared  to  cause  great  sensation  among 
his  disciples,  of  whom  some  whispered  with  each  other,  and 
one  or  two  nodded  and  smiled,  as  if  to  say,  ''  that  is  the  very 
name."  The  pundit  also  smiled  and  bowed,  and  with  the  air 
of  a  man  who  is  giving  instruction  to  a  willing  and  promising 
pupil,  said,  "  a  true  word  it  is  that  there  is  only  one  God, 
who  is  above  all  and  in  all  things,  and  by  whom  all  things  are. 
Many  names  there  may  be,  and  have  been  given  to  him  who 
is  and  is  the  same,  but  whom  we  also,  as  well  as  the  other 
Hindoos  call  Brihm.  But  there  is  a  spirit  in  whom  God  is 
more  especially,  and  who  cometh  from  God,  and  is  with  God, 
and  is  likewise  God,  who  hath  made  known  to  men  the  will 
of  the  God  and  Father  of  all,  whom  we  call  Krishna,  and 
worship  as  God's  image,  and  believe  to  be  the  same  as  the  sun 
*  Surya. ' " 

I  now  thought  a  fair  opportunity  was  given  me,  and  said, 
with  rather  more  fluency  than  I  had  hoped  to  do,  ''0  piindit, 
it  is  a  true  saying,  and  to  be  received  of  all  men,  that  God  is 
every  where,  that  there  is  no  other  besides  him,  that  he  dwells 
in  the  heart  and  prompts  every  good  thought  and  word." 


DOCTRINE    OF    SWAAMEE    NARAIN.  117 

''Ullah  Acbar,"  said  one  of  the  Mussulmans.     "It  is  also 
true,  as  you  have  well  said,  that  it  is  by  his  Word,  whom  we 
call  his  Son,  who  is  with  the  Father,  and  in  whom  the  Father 
dwells,  that  the  invisible  God  has  made  himself  and  his  will 
known  to  mankind. "     Here  one  of  the  Mussulmans  left  the 
room;  perceiving  which,  and  being  anxious  to  keep  the  re- 
mainder a  little  longer,  I  said,  addressing  the  old  Mussulman 
sepoy  who  came  with  the  Thakoor,  "  you,  sir,  know  what  I 
mean,  for  you  know  what  Mohammed  has  written  of  Jesus  the 
Son  of  Mary,  that  he  was  the  breath  of  God  and  born  of  a  vir- 
gin. But  is  not  the  breath  of  a  man,  the  son  of  his  mouth?  Is 
not  the  word  of  a  man  his  breath  reduced  to  form  and  produced 
by  him?     When,  therefore,  we  say  that  Jesus,  son  of  Mary, 
is  the  Son  of  God,  we  mean  that  he  is  his  word,  his  breath, 
proceeding  from  him  and  one  with  him  from  all  eternity.  But 
we  cannot  believe,"  I  returned  to  the  pundit,  ''that  the  sun 
which  we  see  in  the  sky,  can  be  either  God,  or  that  Word 
who  is  one  with  him,  since  the  sun  rises  and  sets,  is  some- 
times on  this  side  of  the  world,  and  sometimes  on  that.     But 
God  is  every  where  at  once,  and  fills  all  things."  The  pundit 
replied,  if  I  understood  him  right,  that  the  sun  is  not  God, 
but  even  as  God  for  brightness  and  glory.     But  he  said  that 
their  belief  was,  that  there  had  been  many  avatars  of  God  in 
difterent  lands,  one  to  the  Christians,  another  to  the  Mussul- 
Qians,  another  to  the  Hindoos  in  time  past,  adding  something 
like  a  hint,  that  another  avatar  of  Krishna,  or  the  Sun,  had 
taken  place  in  himself.  I  answered,  ''  0  Pundit-jee!  God  has 
spoken  in  many  ways  and  at  many  times  by  Prophets;  but  it 
is  hard  to  believe  tliat  a  single  avatar  might  not  be  sufficient 
for  the  whole  world.     But  on  this  and  many  other  points,  we 
may,  if  it  please  God,  talk  hereafter."     I  then  asked  if  he 
could  read  the  Persian  character,  and  on  his  answering  in  the 
negative,  I  expressed  my  concern  that  I  had  no  copies  of  our 
sacred  books  with  me  in  the  Nagree,  but  said  that^if  he  would 
accept  a  volume  or  two,  by  way  of  keeping  me  in  his  remem- 
brance, I  would  send  them  to  him  either  from  Kairah  or  Bora- 
bay.     I  then  asked  in  what  way  he  and  his  followers  worship- 
ped God,  and  finding  that  the  question  seemed  to  perplex 
Mm,  I  made  Abdullah  read  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  Hindoosta- 
nee  to  show  what  I  meant,  and  as  a  specimen  of  what  we  re- 
peated daily.     I  found,  however,  that  he  supposed  me  to  ask 
in  what  form  they  worshipped  God,  and  he  therefore  unrolled 
a  large  picture  in  glaring  colours,  of  a  naked  man  with  rays  pro- 
ceeding from  his  face  like  the  sun,  and  two  women  fanning  him, 
the  man  white,  the  women  black.   I  asked  him  how  that  could  be 
the  God  who  filled  every  thing  and  was  every  where.    He  an- 
swered that  it  was  not.Qod  himself,  but  the  picture  or  form  in 


118  DEPARTtTRE    OP    SWAAMEE    NARAIN. 

which  God  dwelt  in  his  heart:  I  told  him  as  well  as  I  could, 
^or  to  saj  the  truth,  my  fluency  had  begun  to  fail,)  what 
(Christians  and  Mussulmans  thought  as  to  the  worship  of  ima- 
ges, but  did  not  decline  receiving  some  paltry  little  prints  of 
his  divinity  in  various  attitudes,  which  I  said  I  should  value 
as  keepsakes.  I  asked  about  castes,  to  which  he  answered, 
that  he  did  not  regard  the  subject  as  of  much  importance,  but 
that  he  wished  not  to  give  offence;  that  people  might  eat  se- 
parately or  together  in  this  world,  but  that  above  *'oopur,'* 
pointing  to  heaven,  those  distinctions  would  cease,  where  we 
should  be  all  "  ek  ekheejat,"  (one  like  another. )  A  little  fur- 
ther conversation  of  no  great  consequence  followed,  which  was 
ended  by  my  giving  attar  and  pawn  to  the  pundit,  the  two  Tha- 
koors,  and  some  of  the  other  more  distinguished  disciples 
whom  he  pointed  out  to  me.  We  mutually  took  down  each 
others  names  in  writing.  I  again  pressed  him  to  let  me  see 
him  once  more  before  I  left  the  country,  which  he  promised  if 
possible,  and  we  bade  adieu  with  much  mutual  good-will,  and 
a  promise  of  praying  for  each  other,  which,  by  God's  help  I 
mean  to  keep.  On  the  whole  it  was  plain  that  his  advances  to- 
wards truth  had  not  yet  been  so  great  as  I  had  been  told,  but  it 
was  also  apparent  that  he  had  obtained  a  great  power  over  a 
wild  people,  which  he  used  at  present  to  a  good  purpose;  and 
though  I  feared  to  alarm  him  by  beginning  too  rashly,  I  could 
not  but  earnestly  desire  further  means  and  opportunity  of  put- 
ting him  in  a  yet  better  way  than  he  was  now  pursuing;  but  I 
thought  from  all  which  I  saw,  that  it  would  be  to  no  advan- 
tage to  ask  him  to  accompany  me  to  Bombay. 

In  the  evening  Dr.  Barnes  and  I  proceeded  eleven  miles 
more  in  our  palanqueens  to  Kairah,  bearers  having  been'sent 
from  that  place  to  meet  us.  There  is  no  regular  system  of 
d&,khere,  nor,  (that  I  can  learn,)  in  any  part  of  this  Presidency. 
Bearers,  or  *'  hamauls,"  as  they  call  them  by  an  Arabic  word, 
are  hired  at  the  different  large  towns  either  by  the  trip  or  by 
the  day;  and  if  relays  are  required,  they  must  be  sent  out  from 
some  of  these  towns  on  purpose.  The  expense  is  very  great 
in  comparison  with  the  rate  of  travelling  in  other  parts  of  India. 
My  journey  of  eleven  miles  cost  me  fifteen  Baroda  rupees,  qf 
twenty -five  shillings,  and  that  without  carrying  a  single  article 
of  clothes,  or  any  thing  save  my  writing-desk  and  pistols. 
The  night  v/as  but  little  cooler  than  the  day  had  been,  and  the 
road  very  dusty.  It  was  moon-light,  however,  and  I  could 
therefore  observe  that  the  country  was  of  the  same  highly  cul- 
tivated, strongly  enclosed,  woody,  and  English  character 
which  we  had  seen  the  whole  way  on  this  side  of  the  Mhye. 

About  ten  o'clock  we  reached  Kairah,  and  were  conducted 
to  the  bungalow  of  Mr.  Goode  the  Clergyman,  who  received 


Kairah.  119 

us  very  hospitably,  and  had  prepared  a  bed  forme  in  an  empty 
bungalow  separated  from  his  only  by  a  small  field.  Both  these 
were  very  neat  and  even  pretty  dwellings,  but  constructed 
with  much  less  regard  to  the  climate  than  is  usual  on  the  other 
side  of  India.  Here  the  windows  are  generally  small  and 
without  glass,  so  as  neither  to  admit  any  great  body  of  air 
when  it  is  cool,  nor  to  exclude  the  hot  windj  they  have  low 
ceilings  too,  and  are  roofed  with  tiles,  on  which  the  sun  beats 
with  great  power.  Nor  are  the  verandahs  so  well  constructed, 
in  my  opinon,  as  those  of  Hindostan.  The  servants  are  either 
Parsees  or  Portuguese,  and  the  English  language  is  much 
more  generally  understood  and  spoken  among  them  than  in 
the  northern  and  eastern  provinces.  From  Saturday  the  26th 
of  March  to  Monday  the  4th  of  April  I  remained  at  Kairah, 
during  which  time  I  received  great  civility  and  kindness  from 
Mr.  Goode  the  Chaplain,  Major  Sale  of  the  4th  light  dra- 
goons, at  this  time  commanding  officer,  and  the  other  gentle- 
men of  the  station.  On  Sunday  I  consecrated  the  Church, 
which  is  a  large  and  solid  but  clumsy  building,  lately  finished. 
On  Wednesday  I  confirmed  about  70  persons,  and  on  Friday 
and  Sunday,  (Good  Friday  and  Easter  day,)  I  preached.  On 
Saturday,  before  evening  service,  I  consecrated  the  burial- 
ground,  and  in  the  course  of  that  day  visited  the  regimental 
school,  the  station  library,  and  hospital. 

The  cantonment  of  Kairah  stands  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  a  small  city  of  the  same  name,  with  a  river  between 
them,  crossed  by  a  considerable  wooden  bridge,  but  now  in 
most  places  fordable.  It  is  extensive,  and,  I  think,  well  laid 
out,  with  good  barracks  and  an  excellent  hospital,  which  haa 
only  the  defect  of  being  built  round  a  square, — a  plan  which 
robs  one-half  the  range,  of  all  benefit  from  the  breeze.  By 
this  form,  however,  it  is  more  conveniently  and  easily  guarded 5 
and  the  patients  are  secluded  from  any  injurious  intercourse 
with  their  comrades,  as  well  as  from  access  to  spirituous  liquors. 
To  the  prevention  of  this  latter  danger  even  while  the  men 
are  in  health,  a  greater,  or  at  least,  a  more  successful  atten- 
tion seems  to  be  paid  in  this  cantonment  than  in  any  other 
which  I  have  visited.  No  dram-shop  is  allowed  within  its 
bounds,  and  the  only  one  which  is  tolerated,  even  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, is  under  so  good  control,  that  no  great  degree  of 
drunkenness  appeared  to  exist  among  the  European  soldiers, 
who  are,  indeed,  some  of  the  most  respectable  looking  and 
orderly  men  I  have  seen  in  India,  and  of  whom,  on  the  whole, 
Mr.  Goode  has,  according  to  his  own  statement,  a  very  in- 
teresting and  attentive  congregation. 

The  regimental  school  is  in  very  good  order.  There  are, 
indeed,  few  children,  the  greater  numl^er  having  been  carried 


120  KAIRAH. 

off  bj  a  grievous  sickness  which  prevailed  amongst  them  last 
year.  But  there  are  about  forty  adult  soldiers,  who  either 
naving  never  learned,  or  forgotten  their  reading  and  writing, 
arehere  instructed  both  in  these  and  in  arithmetic.  I  examined 
these  men,  and  was  much  pleased  with  the  progress  whicli 
they  had  made,  and  with  the  account  which  I  reeeived  of  their 
diligence. 

The  station  library  is  a  very  good  room,  with  a  small  apart- 
ment adjoining  for  a  non-commissioned  ofl&cer,  who  has  the 
care  of  the  books  which  are  made  up  from  two  difterent  sources, 
the  one  being  a  lending  library  containing  the  works  usually 
furnished  by  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge; 
the  other  a  larger,  more  miscellaneous,  and  far  more  expen- 
sive collection,  furnished  by  the  East  India  Company,  and 
containing,  among  others,  Paley's  Natural  Theology,  Gold- 
smith's Animated  Nature,  Pinkerton's  Geography,  a  good 
Atlas,  the  Indian  histories  of  Ormeand  Wilks,  and  the  novels 
of  the  author  of  Waverley.  The  books  published  by  the 
Christian  Knowledge  Society  are  circulated  in  the  manner 
usually  practised  in  the  lending  libraries  of  that  institution, 
and  bear  marks,  not  of  ill  usage,  but  of  being  well  read,  and 
perhaps  by  no  very  delicate  hands.  The  Company's  books 
are  not  to  be  taken  away  from  the  room  in  which  they  are  de- 
posited, a  late  regulation  to  that  effect  having  been  passed  by 
the  commander-in-chief.  Sir  Charles  Colville.  I  regret  thia 
restriction,  because  I  am  convinced  that,  in  this  climate,  the 
utility  of  the  library  will  be  much  impaired  by  it,  since  men 
will  not  read  when  they  can  amuse  themselves  in  the  open  air, 
nor  when  the  sun  is  high  will  they,  nor  ought  they,  to  walk 
some  distance  to  a  library.  I  can,  indeed,  easily  believe,  that 
while  books  were  taken  by  the  men  to  their  quarters,  some 
•would  be  occasionally  damaged,  but  it  is  surely  better  that 
this  should  happen  occasionally,  rather  than  that  the  reason- 
able and  decent  use  of  the  books  should  be  impeded,  and 
the  munificence  of  government,  in  a  great  degree  rendered 
vain. 

But  even  an  occasional  and  restricted  access  to  works  such 
as  I  have  described,  is  doubtless  a  very  valuable  privilege; 
and,  altogether,  I  have  seen  no  Indian  station,  (Meerut  ex- 
cepted,) from  which  I  have  derived  so  much  comfort  and 
pleasure  as  from  Kairah.  The  worst  is  its  extreme  unheal thi- 
ness;  besides  the  burning  heat,  under  which  all  Guzerat  suf- 
fers, and  in  which  it  is  more  unfavourably  circumstanced  than 
any  other  province  in  India,  there  is  something  in  the  nature 
of  the  soil,  which,  like  the  Terrai,  though  not  in  so  fatal  a 
degree,  affects  mankind,  particularly  Europeans,  with  fever^ 
ague,  and  the  other  complaints  of  tropical  climates.     The 


KAIRAH-  121 

havoc  among  the  Europedti  troops  during  the  hot  months,  and, 
still  more,  during  the  rains,  is  dreadful;  and  even  my  Hin- 
doostanees  and  Bengalees  were  many  of  them  afiected  in  a, 
way  which  reminded  me  much  of  *'the  Belt  of  Death;"  one 
was  taken  ill  after  another,  and,  though  all  recovered,  all 
were  so  thoroughly  alarmed,  that  I  never  witnessed  more  ala- 
crity displayed  by  them  than  when  I  gave  orders  to  prepare 
for  marching.  Archdeacon  Barnes  and  I  felt  nothing  like 
indisposition.  Here,  as  in  the  Terrai,  the  servants  ascribed 
their  illness  to  the  badness  of  the  water.  The  majority  of  the 
wells  are  certainly  brackish,  but  there  is  one  very  fine  one  of 
excellent  quality  at  the  Military  hospital,  to  which  I  appre- 
hend they  would,  by  using  my  name,  have  had  free  access. 
I  am  myself  inclined  to  impute  the  unhealthiness  of  the  sta- 
tion to  the  quantity  of  saltpetre  in  the  soil,  a  circumstance 
in  which  this  district  appears  to  resemble  lower  Bengal.  At 
the  same  time,  it  should  seem  that  the  spot  on  which  the  can- 
tonment stands  is  peculiarly  unfortunate,  since  the  neighbour- 
ing city,  and  even  the  artillery  lines,  though  only  separated 
from  the  rest  by  a  river,  are  reckoned  much  more  healthy. 

The  city  of  Kairah  is  a  large  and  tolerably  neat  town,  sur- 
rounded by  a  lofty  stone  wall,  with  semicircular  bastions,  in 
good  repair,  and  sufficient  to  keep  off  either  nightly  robbers, 
or  parties  of  irregular  cavalry.  To  sudden  attacks  of  both 
kinds,  notwithstanding  the  vicinity  of  the  cantonments,  it 
would  otherwise  still  be,  (as  it  has  been  in  times  past,)  ex- 
posed. The  streets  within,  though  narrow,  are  clean,  and 
the  houses  solid  and  lofty,  with  sloping  tiled  roofs,  and  a  good 
deal  of  carving  exhibited  on  the  wood-work  of  their  gable- 
ends  and  verandahs.  Near  the  centre  of  the  town  are  a  large 
Jain  temple  and  school;  the  former  consisting  of  many  small 
apartments  up  and  down  stairs,  and  even  under  ground,  with 
a  good  deal  of  gaudy  ornament,  and  some  very  beautiful  carv- 
ing in  a  dark  wood  like  oak.  In  one  of  the  upper  rooms  is 
a  piece  of  mechanism  something  like  those  moving  clock-work 
groupes  of  kings,  armies,  gods,  and  goddesses  which  are  oc- 
casionally carried  about  our  own  country  by  Italians  and 
Frenchmen,  in  which  sundry  divinities  dance  and  salaam,  with 
a  sort  of  musical  accompaniment.  These  figures  are  made 
chiefly  of  the  same  black  wood  which  I  have  described. 
What  they  last  showed  us  was  a  cellar  below  ground,  ap- 
proached by  a  very  narrow  passage,  and  containing,  on  an 
altar  of  the  usual  construction,  the  four  statues  of  sitting 
men,  which  are  the  most  frequent  and  peculiar  objects  of  Jain 
idolatry.  They  are  of  white  marble,  but  had,  (as  seems  to 
have  been  the  case  with  many  of  the  images  of  ancient  Greece,) 
their  eyes  of  silver,  which  gleamed  in  a  very  dismal  and  ghostly 


122  KAIRAH. 

roanner  in  the  light  of  a  solitary  lamp  which  was  burninji:  be- 
fore them,  aided  by  a  yet  dimmer  ray  which  penetrated  from 
above  through  two  narrov/  apertures,  like  flues,  in  the  vault- 
ing. We  were  very  civilly  conducted  over  the  whole  build- 
ing by  one  of  the  junior  priests,  the  senior  pundit  of  the  place 
remaining  as  if  absorbed  in  heavenly  things,  immovable  and 
silent  during  the  whole  of  our  stay.  While  I  was  in  the 
temple  a  good  many  worshippers  entered,  chiefly  women, 
each  of  whom,  first  touching  one  of  the  bells  which  hung 
from  the  roof,  bent  to  the  ground  before  one  or  other  of  the 
idols,  depositing,  in  some  instances,  flowers,  or  sugar-candy 
before  it.  There  seemed  no  reluctance  to  admit  me  and  Mr. 
Williams,  the  judge  and  magistrate,  who  accompanied  me, 
to  any  part  of  the  building;  but  the  priests  drove  back,  with- 
out any  ceremony,  such  of  our  attendants  as  wished  to  fol- 
low us. 

Near  this  temple  is  the  Adawlut,  a  handsome  building, 
with  pillars  in  the  Grecian  style,  having  its  attic  story  raised 
high  above  the  town,  and  containing  very  convenient  apart- 
ments for  the  Judge  and  his  family.  Separated  by  a  narrow 
street  is  the  prison,  a  large  and  strong  building,  which  was, 
nevertheless,  nearly  forced  eight  or  ten  years  ago,  by  a  mob 
of  Coolies  who  had  determined  to  release  one  of  their  associ- 
ates, who  was  in  confinement.  Mr.  Ironside,  the  senior 
Judge,  nearly  lost  his  life  on  that  occasion. 

During  the  Saturday  before  we  left  Kairah,  one  of  my  ser- 
vants was  severely  stung  by  a  scorpion.  He  caught  and 
killed  the  animal,  and  brought  it  to  Dr.  Smith,  who,  however, 
did  not  apply  it  to  the  wound,  regarding  it  as  a  superstitious 
remedy  which  he  has  never  known  do  any  good.  Nothing, 
indeed,  according  to  his  experience,  is  really  serviceable  ex- 
cept patience,  and  a  lotion  of  vinegar  and  water;  and  the  last 
rather  as  occupying  the  patient's  attention,  than  from  any  di- 
rect eflicacy  to  relieve  the  pain.  This  is  v^ry  severe,  and 
continues  six  or  eight  hours;  after  which  it  generally  goes 
away  by  degrees.  '  It  very  seldom,  if  ever,  happens  that  the 
injury  is  of  more  lasting  consequences;  but,  during  this  time, 
Dr.  Smith  has  seen  strong  and  courageous  men  crying  like 
children,  from  the  extremity  of  their  anguish.  The  bite  of 
the  centipede  he  considers  as  worse  than  that  of  the  scorpion, 
and  a  very  large  insect  of  that  kind  was  killed  during  Divine 
Service  on  Saturday,  creeping  up  the  shoe  of  one  of  the  sol- 
diers. The  beginning  of  the  hot  weather,  and  the  first  ten 
days  of  the  rainy  season,  are  the  times  at  which  venomous 
animals  are  most  active  and  troublesome  all  over  India;  nor, 
in  spite  of  these  two  cases,  have  I  any  reason  to  suppose  that 
they  are  more  numerous  in  Guzerat  than  elsewhere. 


PETITION  OF  SWAARIEE  NARAIN.  123 

In  different  parts  of  this  province  particularly  near  the 
town  of  Kuppurgunge,  are  found  numbers  of  cornelians  and 
other  pebbles,  particularly  of  the  kind  called  in  England 
"mocha  stones,"  whicli  the  shopkeepers  of  Cambay  cut,  po- 
lish, and  set  very  neatly.  The  cornelians  are  always  roasted 
in  a  strong  fire  before  any  thing  is  done  to  them;  nor  is  it 
known,  till  this  has  taken  place,  whether  they  are  worth  any 
thing  or  no.  The  silversmiths  of  Cutch  and  Cattyroar  em- 
boss very  neatly,  by  filling  the  cup,  watch-case,  box,  or  other 
vessel  with  gum-lack,  and  punching  it  in,  to  the  figure  re- 
quired, with  a  small  chisel.  Major  Sale  showed  me  a  watch- 
case  and  small  tankard,  very  prettily  ornamented  in  this 
manner,  with  flowers,  elephants,  and  difterent  birds  and 
animals. 

On  April  the  4th,  Easter  Monday,  we  left  Kairah  for  Deh- 
wan,  a  village  seven  coss  distant.  Our  road  was  through  a 
well-cultivated  country,  with  strong  and  high  green  hedges, 
a  fine  show  of  hedge-row  timber,  and  sandy  lanes,  so  narrow, 
that  on  meeting  a  string  of  hackeries  we  were  obliged  to  break 
a  gap  into  a  field,  in  order  to  let  them  pass  us.  We  met  on 
the  way  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  miserable,  half-naked,  and 
half-starved  emigrants,  from  Cattywar,  who  said  they  had 
lingered  there  till  most  of  their  cattle  were  dead,  and  they 
themselves  and  their  children  nearly  so;  nor  did  they  now 
know  where  to  go  to  find  a  happier  country. 

At  Dehwan  we  found  a  handsome  pagoda,  with  a  convent 
attached  to  it,  embosomed  in  tall  trees,  and  were  met  by  the 
Maharatta  manager  of  Pitland,  a  man  of  some  consequence, 
who  had  the  title  of  ''  Eaee." 

I  forgot  to  mention  in  its  proper  place,  that  during  my  con- 
tinuance in  Kairah,  I  received  a  petition  from  Swaamee  Na- 
rain,  which,  unfortunately,  marked  but  too  clearly  the  small- 
ness  of  his  advances  beyond  the  usual  limits  of  Hindooism. 
It  was  written  in  very  good  English,  but  signed  by  him  in 
Nagree,  and  was  brought  to  me  by  two  of  the  persons  wbom  1 
had  seen  among  his  disciples.  Its  purport  was  to  request  my 
influence  with  government  to  obtain  an  endowment  for  a  tem- 
ple which  he  was  building  to  Luckshmee  Narain,  the  goddess  of 
plenty,  and  also  for  a  hospital  and  place  of  reception,  which 
he  wished  to  institute  in  the  same  neighbourhood,  for  pilgrims 
and  poor  travellers.  I  was  at  some  pains  to  explain  to  these 
people  that  I  was  only  a  traveller,  and  with  no  authority  in 
the  government,  and  that,  as  being  a  Christian,  I  could  not 
attempt  any  thing  which  v/as  to  encourage  the  worship  of 
images.  I  told  them,  however,  that  I  would  convey  their 
petition  to  Mr.  Elphinstone,  so  far  as  regarded  the  alms-house 
and  relief  of  poor  travellers,  and  that  J  would  report,  as  I  was 

Vol.  II.— 11 


124  PITLAND. 

bound  to  do,  the  good  account  which  I  heard  from  all  quar- 
ters of  the  system  of  morals  preached  by  Swaamee  Narain,  and 
acted  on  by  his  disciples.  From  Mr.  Ironside,  who  knows 
him  well,  and  who  speaks  very  favourably  of  him,  I  found 
that  when  expostulated  with  on  the  worship  of  images,  the 
pundit  often  expressed  his  conviction  of  their  vanity,  but 
pleaded  that  he  feared  to  offend  the  prejudices  of  the  people 
too  suddenly,  and  that  for  ignorant  and  carnal  minds,  such 
outward  aids  to  devotion  were  necessary.  These  opinions  are, 
indeed  no  more  than  some  Christians  of  the  Romish  Church 
express^  but  since  I  have  heard  them,  I  confess  I  have 
thought  less  favourably  of  his  simplicity  and  honesty  of  cha- 
racter, and  have  entertained  fewer  hopes  of  being  able  to  ren- 
der him  any  spiritual  service.  Still,  as  loosening  prejudices,  his 
ministry  may,  by  God's  mercy,  be  useful  to  his  countrymen. 

The  day  was  intensely  hot,  and  notwithstanding  the  abun- 
dance of  trees  in  Guzerat,  they  are  never  disposed  in  groves 
so  as  to  furnish  a  convenient  shelter  for  a  camp.  Ours  was  in 
the  middle  of  a  ploughed  field;  and  though,  during  a  part  of 
the  day,  the  breeze  was  strong  enough  to  admit  of  tatties,  the 
burden  of  the  sun  in  the  afternoon  was  more  than  the  awnings 
of  our  canvas  habitations  could  resist,  and  fell  heavy  on  us. 
We  had  reason  to  be  thankful  that  there  were  only  ten  more 
days  before  we  should  arrive  in  Surat.  Had  we  taken  the  lon- 
ger round  by  Mhow,  we  must  have  expected  to  feel  the  cli- 
mate severely. 

I  have  had  several  occasions  within  the  few  last  days  to  ob- 
serve that  the  English  on  this  side  of  India  call  the  Hindoos 
"  Gentoos,"  a  name  which,  though  commonly  used  for  them 
in  Europe,  I  never  heard  in  Bengal  or  Hindostan.  I  cannot 
learn  that  it  is  taken  from  any  Indian  dialect;  and  the  Guze- 
ratteeprofessorsof  the  religion  of  Brahma  call  themselves,  here 
as  elsewhere  *'  Hindooee."  I  suspect  it  is  only  a  corruption 
of  the  Portuguese  jargon  "  Gentao,"  a  Gentile,  and  may  rank 
witbthe  compound  "  Campao"  of  Bengal. 

April  5. — This  morning  we  proceeded,  eight  coss,  to  Pit- 
land,  where  we  found  Archdeacon  Barnes  just  arrived,  he 
having  come  by  dak  during  the  night  from  Kairah.  Pitland 
is  a  large  town,  with  a  good  stone  rampart,  and,  with  the  dis- 
trict around  it,  belongs  to  the  Guicwar  Raja.  The  environs 
are  fertile  and  shady,  with  noble  banyan  trees,  and  several 
large  tanks,  and  there  are  a  good  many  temples.  The  popula- 
tion is  of  about  15,000  people. 

The  Khamdar,  Kooseah  Baee,  the  same  who  met  me  yester- 
day, again  received  me  with  much  civility  at  the  entrance  of 
the  town,  and  conducted  me  to  the  encampment.  He  also 
expressed  his  hope  that  I  would  let  him  show  me  the  curiosi- 


*  BEGGARS.  125 

ties  of  his  town,  in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  to  which  I  assent- 
ed, more  out  of  civility  than  from  an  expectation  of  finding 
any  thing  worth  notice.     He  seemed  pleased,  and  soon  after 
sent  a  very  plentiful  dinner  for  the  servants  and  every  body 
in  the  camp,  amounting,  altogether,  to  no  fewer  than  350  per- 
sons.    He  said  that  he  sent  this  by  the  Maharaja's  order,  and 
because  this  was  the  last  of  his  towns  that  I  should  visit.     In 
the  evening  too,  when  we  prepared  merely  for  a  ride  round 
the  town,  we  found  that  we  were  expected  to  go  in  much 
pomp  to  the  fort  and  see  fireworks  there.     I  was  annoyed  at 
being  thus  ensnared  into  a  visit,  but  could  not  civilly  draw 
back,  and  w^as  accordingly  received  with  a  salute  from  the 
ramparts,  and  underwent  the  penance  of  sitting  in  a  sort  of 
unfinished  pavilion  in  solemn  durbar  a  good  hour,  while  some 
Roman  candles  and  rockets  were  let  off.  The  fort  is  large,  but 
old,  and  in  bad  repair;  its  garrison  seemed  to  consist  of  about 
20  or  25  sepoys,  dressed  in  red,  with  caps  like  those  of  the 
King  of  Oude's  troops.     Nothing  was  ever  devised  more  ridi- 
culously ugly  than  this  head  dress,  but  the  men  were  cleanly 
dressed  and  accoutred,  and  presented  arms  with  much  smart- 
ness.    The  ceremony  concluded  by  his  giving  me  and  my 
friends  some  shawls,  and  my  returning  the  compliment  by  a 
similar  present,  the  means  of  making  which  had  been  kindly 
and  considerately  supplied  me  by  Mr.  Williams. 

An  unusual  number  of  beggars  were  assembled  at  this  sta- 
tion, some  of  whom,  however,  professed  to  have  come  from  a 
distance  from  having  heard  my  "name."  Among  them  were 
two  natives  of  Cabul  who  repeated  Persian  poetry,  and  a  very 
holy  yogi,  his  naked  and  emaciated  body  covered  over  with 
white  powder,  and  an  iron  implement,  like  a  flesh-hook,  in 
his  hand,  which  is  frequently  carried  by  devotees  in  this  part 
of  India,  but  the  meaning  of  which  I  forgot  to  inquire.  There 
were  divers  miserable  painted  females,  who  also  said  that  they 
came  from  far  to  offer  their  services  and  salutations  to  "huz- 
zoor;"  and,  lastly,  there  were  half-a-dozen  or  more  half-starv- 
ed and  more  than  half-naked  figures,  who  had  children  at  their 
breasts  and  in  their  hands,  and  who  had  no  other  claim  on  my 
attention  than  the  strongest  of  all,  "ah.  Lord  Sahib,  our  ba- 
bies are  dying  of  hunger!"  On  the  whole,  however,  the  num- 
ber of  beggars  in  every  part  of  Guzerat  has  been  less  than  I 
expected  to  find  it  in  a  year  so  unpropitious,  and,  certainly, 
not  more,  taking  one  day  with  another,  than  any  man  who 
should  travel  slowly,  and  with  some  degree  of  state  and  pub- 
licity through  England  might  find  in  its  market-towns  and  vil- 
lages. My  march,  I  can  easily  perceive,  attracts  considera- 
ble notice.  The  people  of  the  towns  and  villages  all  throng 
to  the  road-side,  the  hedges  and  windows  to  look  at  us,  and  I 


126  GAUIMA. 

have  consented  to  be  a  little  longer  on  the  road,  and  a  good 
deal  more  dusted  than  I  otlierwise  might  be,  rather  than  seem 
to  underrate  the  marks  of  distinction  which  the  Raja  has  as- 
signed me,  or  to  disappoint  tl\e  towns-people  of  their  show. 
We  therefore  go  on  in  good  order  and  in  marching  time  the 
Avhole  way,  with  the  tawdry  banner  of  the  Guicwar  floating  before 
us,  the  Nagari  beating  on  our  approach  to  a  town,  and  Cabul 
decked  out  in  full  oriental  costume,  with  the  bridle  and  sad- 
dle which  were  given  me  at  Baroda.  Well  it  is  for  these  poor 
peasants  that  the  Maharatta  banner  and  kettle-drum  are  now 
to  them  no  more  than  objects  of  curiosity  and  amusement. 
Ten  years  ago  there  were  few  parts  of  India  where  such  a  sight 
and  sound  would  not  have  been  a  sign  of  flight  and  tears;  the 
villagers  instead  of  crowding  to  see  us,  would  have  come  out 
indeed,  but  with  their  hands  clasped,  kissing  the  dust,  and 
throwing  down  before  the  invader  all  their  wives'  silver  orna- 
ments, with  bitter  entreaties  that  the  generous  conqueror 
would  condescend  to  take  all  they  had  and  do  them  no  further 
injury;  and  accounting  themselves  but  too  happy  if  those 
prayers  were  heard,  so  that  their  houses  were  left  unburnt, 
and  their  wives  and  daughters  inviolate !  War  is,  doubtless, 
a  dreadful  evil  every  where,  but  war,  as  it  is  carried  on  in 
these  countries,  appears  to  have  liorrors  which  an  European 
soldier  can  scarcely  form  an  idea  of. 

Jipril  6.— We  proceeded  about  seventeen  miles  to  Gauima, 
a  village  near  which  we  were  to  cross  the  sands  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Mhye,  and  v/hich  would  save  us  almost  a  day's  march 
in  our  journey  to  Broach.  The  country  though  still,  general- 
ly speaking,  well  cultivated,  was  less  fertile  and  more  woody 
and  wild  than  that  we  had  lately  passed:  the  trees,  however, 
were  all  of  the  same  round-topped  character,  and  I  was  con- 
tinually reminded  of  some  of  the  green  lanes  round  Hodnet. 

We  found  our  tents  pitched  on  a  small  eminence,  enjoying 
a  delightful  cool  breeze,  which  sufficiently  indicated  the 
neighbourhood  of  an  arm  of  the  sea.  The  estuary,  however, 
of  the  Mliye  was  not  visible,  being  shut  out  from  us  by  inter- 
vening jungle,  though  beyond  this  last,  a  blue  and  distant  line 
of  woods  appeared,  obviously  showing  that  a  wide  valley  of 
some  kind  intervened.  As  we  had  received  our  accounts  of 
this  place,  and  its  perfect  practicability  for  the  passage  of  horses, 
carriages,  and  camels,  from  a  gentleman  high  in  office  and  long 
experienced  in  this  part  of  the  country,  we  had  none  of  us  the 
smallest  doubt  but  that  the  ford  would  be  an  easy  one;  and  I 
was  much  surprised  and  disappointed  to  learn  from  the  Potail 
of  the  village,  who  came  to  call  on  me,  that  during  spring 
tides  the  water  was  deep  enough,  even  at  ebb,  to  drown  a 
camel;  that  the  ferry-boat  was  only  calculated  for  foot-pas- 


PASSAGE  OF  THE  MYHE.  127 

sengers;  and  that,  hearing  of  our  approach,  he  had  sent  the 
day  before  to  warn  us  that  the  ford  was  impracticable,  though, 
unfortunately,  his  message  did  not  appear  to  have  arrived  in 
Pitland  time  enough  to  stop  us.  The  river  was,  he  said,  a 
coss  and  a  half  wide,  of  which,  when  the  tide  was  out,  about 
a  third  was  occupied  by  water,  and  the  rest  was  all  mud  and 
muscle-banks.  Many  Sahibs  had  passed  that  way,  but,  he 
thought,  always  in  boats,  and  certainly  not  at  spring-tide  I 
The  nearest  place  where,  in  his  judgment,  camels  could  pass, 
was  Ometa,  nine  coss  to  the  north,  and  a  very  little  to  the 
south  of  Fusilpoor  where  w^e  crossed  the  river  before.  This 
was  very  provoking  to  us  all,  and  I  much  regretted  that  I  had 
allowed  myself  to  be  dissuaded  from  a  plan  which  I  had  once 
entertained  of  going  to  Cambay,  and  getting  a  passage  there, 
in  some  of  the  country  boats,  to  Tunkaria  Bunder,  a  road  near 
Broach,  where  we  might  be  met  by  the  little  vessel  which  the 
government  had  placed  at  my  disposal.  From  Cambay,  in- 
deed, we  were  now  only  a  day's  march,  but  without  previous 
notice  no  vessel  could  be  got  there;  and  no  plan  appeared 
practicable  of  gaining  my  point,  so  far  as  Broach  was  concern- 
ed, which  was  to  reach  that  city  by  Sunday,  unless  we  could 
by  some  means  or  other  get  over  this  formidable  frith.  Dr. 
Smith  kindly  volunteered  to  go  down  in  Archdeacon  Barnes' 
palanqueen  to  reconnoitre,  and  have  some  conversation  with 
the  ferrymen.  The  account  which  he  brought  back  was  suffi- 
ciently unfavourable,  and  entirely  corresponded  with  that  of 
the  Potail.  The  boat,  however,  he  said,  was  a  large  and  good 
one,  and  two  other  boats  might  be  obtained,  so  that  he  pro- 
posed that  we  ourselves,  and  our  baggage,  should  pass  here, 
and  that  the  horses  and  unloaded  camels  should  make  a  forced 
march  by  Ometa  to  join  us  on  the  other  side.  It  at  once,  how- 
ever, occurred  to  me,  that  the  horses,  at  least,  might  with 
proper  management  swim  over;  and  Bappoor  Maharatta,  on 
being  consulted,  said  that,  unloaded,  he  thought  the  camels 
might  get  through  also,  if  they  took  the  very  lowest  ebb,  and 
did  their  work  in  the  day  time;  accordingly  we  sent  to  hire  a 
sufficient  number  of  carts  to  carry  our  goods  down  to  the  wa- 
ter's edge,  since  over  the  slippery  ouse  of  the  river  no  loaded 
camel  could  pass,  and  a  similar  number  were  engaged  to  meet 
us  on  the  other  side  of  the  channel  from  the  village  of  Dopkah. 
We  also  summoned  two  small  ferry-boats  from  Dehwan  and 
a  village  between  us  and  Ometa,  to  assist  in  passing  us  over, 
and  sent  off  this  evening  as  many  of  our  things  as  we  could 
spare  with  the  khansaman,  a  havildar,  and  fourteen  sepoys,  to 
the  water's  edge,  in  the  hope  that  they  might  get  over  by  the 
night's  tide,  and  leave  the  morning's  ebb  free  for  the  passage 
of  the  animals. 

11* 


128  DOPKAH. 

The  boats,  however,  were  not  ready  5  and  nlext  morning, 
April  7,  when  I  went  to  the  scene  of  action  a  little  before  five, 
I  found  the  embarkation  going  on  slowly,  though  tolerably 
prosperously.  The  breakfast-things  and  a  few  chairs  had  pass- 
ed over,  and  the  carts  were  employed  in  conveying  the  tents 
and  other  goods  slowly  over  the  deep  ouse  to  the  channel. 
The  ebb  was  now  pretty  nearly  at  its  lowest.  From  high-water 
mark,  where  the  bank  was  steep,  woody,  and  intersected  by 
several  narrow  and  deep  ravines,  was  rather  less  than  a  mile 
of  wet  muddy  sand  and  sludge,  with  streams  of  salt  water  in 
different  parts,  about  as  high  as  a  man's  v/aist.  Then  follow- 
ed, perhaps,  half-a-mile  of  water,  where  we  saw  the  boats  wait- 
ing for  us.  We  got  into  the  smallest  boats  from  our  horses' 
backs,  and  taking  off  their  saddles,  led  one  to  each  side  ;  the 
saeeses,  who  were  with  us  in  the  boat,  holding  the  halters. 
Four  horses  more  were  in  the  same  manner  fastened,  two  on 
a  side,  to  the  large  boat,  which  was  under  the  care  of  Abdul- 
lah ;  and  we  thus  proceeded  prosperously,  though  our  poor 
steeds  were  grievously  frightened  when  they  felt  themselves 
out  of  their  depth.  We  ourselves  were  a  little  dismayed  on 
finding,  as  we  drew  near  the  opposite  beach,  that  the  stream 
flowed  close  under  its  deep  side,  and  that  the  ghat  for  landing 
was  very  crumbling,  abrupt,  and  difficult  for  every  animal  but 
man.  It  is  very  clear,  indeed,  that  under  such  circumstances 
as  the  present,  no  horses  had  ever  passed  at  this  place  before; 
but  ours  were  all  unincumbered,  and  of  good  courage;  and 
when  let  loose,  with  the  land  in  sight,  scrambled  up  happily 
without  receiving  any  damage.  The  Company's  cavalry  fol- 
lowed in  the  same  way  that  we  had  done,  and  then  the  Maha- 
rattas.  I  had  directed  these  to  stay  to  the  last,  but  there  was 
no  keeping  them  back  ;  and,  as  the  tide  by  this  time  was  flow- 
ing again,  the  camels  were  obliged  to  wait  till  the  afternoon, 
when  they  also  passed,  though  with  some  difficulty,  yet  safely. 

The  village  of  Dopkah,  where  we  remained  for  the  day,  is 
about  two  miles  from  the  shore,  the  interval  being  wild  and 
jungly,  and  I  had  here  again  occasion  to  observe,  what  had 
struck  me  repeatedly  before,  that  not  only  palms  of  every  kind 
are  rare  in  Guzerat,  but  that  bamboos  are  never  seen  either  in 
jungles  or  cultivated  grounds.  What  peculiarity  it  is  of  soil  or 
of  climate,  which  deprives  this  district  of  two  of  the  most  useful 
and  ornamental  plants  which  India  produces,  I  cannot  guess. 

Dopkah  is  a  small  village,  prettily  situated,  belonging  to 
the  Maharaja.  It  is  completely  out  of  any  usually  frequent- 
ed road,  and  I  had  the  mortification  of  finding  that  our  com- 
ing with  so  numerous  a  party  occasioned  not  only  surprise, 
but  alarm  and  distress  ;  the  Potail  shed  many  tears,  anticipa- 
ting a  complete  destruction  to  his  remaining  stock  of  hay,  a 


POTAILS  OP  GUZERAT.  129 

loss  which  no  pecuniary  payment  could,  in  such  a  year  as  this, 
make  up  to  him.  I  pitied  him  and  his  villagers  heartily,  and 
gave  directions  that  all  the  neighbouring  hamlets  should  be 
laid  under  contribution,  so  that  each  would  only  have  to  fur- 
nish a  little,  and  none  need  be  quite  stripped.  Bappoo  Ma- 
haratta  offered  to  pay  all  demands  for  boats,  hackeries,  coolies, 
&c. ',  but  having  some  doubt  how  far  the  peasants  were  safe  in 
his  hands,  I  said  that  I  wished  to  see  them  all  myself.  I  had, 
in  consequence,  assembled  before  my  tent  a  most  wild  and 
extraordinary  group  of  four  village  Potails,  twenty -four  boat- 
men, twenty-seven  carters,  and  fifty  coolies,  who  were  so  well 
pleased  at  receiving  any  thing,  that  when  I  had  distributed 
among  them  the  payments  to  which  I  thought  them  fully  en- 
titled, they  actually  testified  their  content  by  acclamation.  It 
was,  indeed,  an  expensive  day's  work,  but  did  not,  after  all, 
amount  to  more  than  about  37  rupees ;  a  sum  which,  in  Eng- 
land would  be  thought  little  enough  for  the  trajet  of  such  a 
party  as  ours  over  such  a  frith. 

The  Potails  of  Guzerat  are  very  inferior  in  dress,  manners, 
and  general  appearance,  to  the  Zemindars  of  Hindostan.  Their 
manner,  however  though  less  polished,  is  more  independent ; 
and  here,  as  in  Central  India,  instead  of  standing  with  joined 
hands  in  the  presence  of  a  superior  they  immediatly  sit  down, 
even  if  they  do  not  advance  to  embrace  him.  Almost  all  of 
them,  as  well  as  their  ryuts,  and  indeed  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  country,  are  armed,  some  with  bows  and  arrows,  and  all, 
or  nearly  all,  with  sabres.  Their  dress  is  generally  ragged 
and  dirty,  and  they  seem  to  pay  less  attention  to  personal 
cleanliness  than  any  Hindoos  whom  I  have  met  with.  Some 
of  the  peasants  who  were  assembled  were  tall  stout  men,  but 
the  average  were  considerably  under  the  middle  size. 

The  day  was  hot,  and  we  had,  unfortunately,  neither  shade 
nor  breeze.  I  left  two  sepoys  at  this  village  sick,  with  one 
convalescent  to  take  care  of  them.  The  distance  from  hence 
to  Baroda  is  only  about  eighteen  miles,  and  I  thought  it  most 
humane  to  take  them  no  further  from  their  homes,  since  Dr. 
Smith  hoped  that,  with  the  help  of  a  single  day's  rest,  they 
would  be  well  able  to  return  thither.  The  convalescent  man 
was  very  unwilling  to  leave  our  party,  but  it  was  necessary 
to  be  positive  with  him. 

Some  complaints  were  brought  by  the  country  people  against 
the  sepoys,  for  bullying  and  maltreating  themj  and  I  was  com- 
pelled to  send  a  sharp  reprimand  to  the  jemautdar  for  not 
keeping  his  men  in  more  order.  I  do  not  remember  any  com- 
plaints of  the  sort  occurring  against  the  Hindoostanee  sepoys, 
(luring  the  whole  course  of  my  journey;  but  lam  not  sure 
whether  they  are  really  better  behaved,  or  whether  these  Gu- 


130  SAKRA — TEKARIA. 

zerattee  peasants  may  be  more  quick  in  resenting,  and  less 
patient  under  injuries,  than  our  subjeets  in  the  northern  pro- 
vinces. I  own  that  I  suspect  the  former  to  be  the  case  ;  yet 
in  exterior,  smartness  of  drill,  and  obedience  to  officers,  no- 
thing can  exceed  the  little  Bombay  sepoy.  They  are,  how- 
ever, evidently  a  more  lively  and  thoughtless,  and  I  think  a 
more  irascible  and  less  sober  race  than  their  Hindoostanee 
brethren  ;  and  such  men,  with  arms  in  their  hands,  are  apt  to 
be  rash  and  peremptory. 

April  8. — We  continued  our  journey  to  a  village  called 
Sakra,  on  the  banks  of  the  same  small  river,  (the  Dhandur,) 
which  flows  by  Baroda.  The  distance  was  about  fourteen 
miles,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  over  a  black  soil,  with 
many  deep  cracks,  chiefly  cultivated  in  cotton,  and,  apparent- 
ly, of  inferior  fertility  to  the  red  sandy  soil  which  we  had 
found  every  where  north-west  of  the  Mhye.  At  Sakra  we  met 
>  a  large  party  of  poor  Cattywar  emigrants,  who  had  formed 
themselves,  (as  they  said,)  out  of  pure  want,  into  a  society  of 
religious  beggars  and  jugglers,  with  the  usual  equipments  of 
beads,  peacocks'  feathers,  tame  snakes,  and  music.  I  observ- 
ed to  some  of  them  that  they  were  strong,  able-bodied  men, 
and  might  work  ;  to  which  they  answered,  ''How  can  we  work 
when  God  gives  no  rain  ?"  I  asked  whither  they  were  going, 
and  a  poor  woman  replied  "a  begging."  They  were  very 
thankful  for  a  trifling  charity  which  1  gave  to  their  chief,  whom 
they  called  their  ''Khaleefa,"  (Caliph)  a  title  which  I  had 
not  heard  before  in  India.  Here,  however,  it  is  one  of  many 
circumstances  which  marks  our  approach  to  the  Arabian  Gulph. 
The  price  of  flour  at  present  was  about  three  anas  the  seer, 
or  three  half-pence  per  pound  English,  which  even  in  England 
would  be  thought  a  grievous  rate,  how  much  more  in  a  land 
where  there  is  so  little  money  stirring,  and  where  the  prices 
of  labour  are  so  much  lower  than  in  England  ! 

April  9. — We  went  thirteen  miles  more  to  a  village  called 
Tekaria,  where  we  re-entered  the  Company's  territory.  The 
country  still,  and,  indeed,  all  the  way  to  Broach,  was  chiefly 
cultivated  with  cotton,  the  roads  very  bad  and  worn  into  deep 
ruts,  the  trees  less  tall,  spreading,  and  numerous  than  we  had 
been  accustomed  to  see. 

Mr.  Boyd,  the  Collector  of  Broach,  kindly  sent  two  revenue 
officers,  a  tussildar,  and  an  inferior  functionary,  w^ith  some 
suwarrs  to  act  as  guides,  and  to  procure  us  the  usual  supplies. 
The  tussildar  and  his  assistant  were  old  men  of  the  Mahom- 
medan  sect  of  Boras,  and,  whether  justly  so  or  no,  seemed 
regarded  as  usurers  and  oppressors  by  tlie  people  under  their 
care.  The  Boras  in  generel  are  unpopular,  and  held  in  the 
same  estimation  for  parsimony  that  the  Jews  are  in  England. 


BROACH.  131 

Abdullah  said,  translating  the  expressions  of  some  of  the  com- 
mon people,  concerning  them,  that  tlrey  were  "  an  abominable 
nation." 

April  10. — This  day  we  reached  Broach,  a  large  ruinous 
city  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Nerbudda.     We  were  hos- 
pitably entertained  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Corsellis,  the  commer- 
cial agent.     His  dwelling,  as  usual  in  this  Presidency,  is  in 
the  middle  of  the  town,  but  on  an  elevated  terrace  within  the 
ramparts  of  the  old  fort,  and  commanding  an  extensive  view 
of  the  river,  which  is  a  noble  sheet  of  water  of,  I  should  guess, 
two  miles  across  even  at  ebb  tide.     It  is  very  shallow,  how- 
ever, except  at  flood,  and  even  then  admits  no  vessels  beyond 
the  bar  at  Tunkaria  Bunde  larger  than  a  moderate-sized  ligh- 
ter.    The  boats  wliich  navigate  it  are  rigged  with  large  lateen 
sails,  instead  of  square  or  lug,  another  peculiarity  in  which  the 
habits  of  this  side  of  India  approach  those  of  the  Levant  and 
the  Arabian  sea,  rather  than  those  of  Bengal.     Broach,  by  the 
help  of  these  boats,  drives  on  a  considerable  trade  in  cotton 
which  it  sends  down  to  Bombay.     It  is  now,  however,  a  poor 
and  dilapidated  place,  and  also  reckoned  very  hot  and  un- 
wholesome.   For  its  heat  I  can  answer,  though  Mr.  Corsellis, 
having  been  a  good  deal  in  Calcutta  with  Lord  Wellesley, 
keeps  his  house  far  cooler  than  is  usually  done  on  this  side  of 
India  ;  and  it  is,  I  understand,  remarked  in  Malwah,  though 
I  cannot  give  any  probable  reason  for  the  difference,  that  the 
black  soil,  such  as  we  have  lately  been  traversing,  is  more  un- 
healthy than  the  redder  kinds.     Broach  has  a  small  but  neat 
room  within  the  enclosure  of  the  Judges'  cutcherry,  fitted  up 
and  furnished  as  a  Church,  in  which  I  preached  and  adminis- 
tered the  Sacrament  to  about  twelve  persons.   The  whole  con- 
gregation consisted  of  about  twenty.     Mr.  Jeffries,  the  Chap- 
lain of  Surat,  comes  over  hither  once  a  month,  and  was  now 
Mr.  Corsellis's  guest. 

We  dined  early,  and  in  the  afternoon  enjoyed,  though  al- 
most 40  miles  from  the  open  sea,  a  fine  south-west  sea- 
breeze,  which  came  up  with  the  flood-tide  and  cooled  the  air 
very  pleasantly.  This  seems  one  of  the  few  favourable  cir- 
cumstances in  the  climate  of  the  place,  and  even  this  is  not 
always  to  be  counted  on.  In  fact,  by  all  which  I  had  as  yet 
learned  of  the  climate  of  the  Bombay  Presidency,  and  hy  all 
which  I  had  seen  of  the  pale  complexions  and  premature  signs 
of  old  age  which  distinguish  the  civil  and  military  servants  of 
the  Company  in  Guzerat,  from  those  in  the  upper  provinces 
of  Bengal,  and  even  in  Calcutta  itself,  I  was  led  to  conclude 
that,  though  Bombay  itself  might  enjoy,  as  they  all  assured 
me  it  did,  an  agreeable  temperature  during  many  months  in 
the  year,  there  was  no  part  of  India, so  generally  unfriendly 


132  HOSPITAL  FOR  ANIMALS,  &C. 

to  European  health  as  Guzerat,  and,  with  the  single  excep- 
tion of  Poonah,  the  otl>er  continental  dependencies  of  this 
Presidency.  Nor  do  its  inhabitants  seem  to  take  advantage, 
as  they  might  do,  of  the  few  alleviations  and  remedies  of  heat 
which  are  recurred  to  by  the  English  on  the  other  side  of 
Indian  I  have  seen  several  houses  without  punkahs.  Their 
tatties  are  ill  made  and  ill  managed;  their  roofs,  instead  of 
pucka  or  thatch,  are  composed  of  thin  and  ill  made  tiles 
which  are  scarcely  any  defence  against  the  sun.  The  Eu- 
ropean comforts  and  luxuries  which  their  shops  supply,  are 
said  to  be  both  dearer  and  worse  than  those  of  Calcutta,  and 
though  they  all  complain,  with  apparent  reason,  of  the  high 
price  and  inferior  quality  of  provisions  and  labour,  they  are 
unacquainted  with  the  comfortable  and  economical  arrange- 
ments which  enable  the  military  officers  of  the  different  sta- 
tions of  the  Bengal  establishment  to  keep  flocks,  slaughter 
bullocks,  and  import  wine,  &c.  in  common. 

At  Broach  is  one  of  those  remarkable  institutions  which 
have  made  a  good  deal  of  noise  in  Europe  as  instances  of 
Hindoo  benevolence  to  inferior  anim*als.  I  mean  hospitals 
for  sick  and  infirm  beasts,  birds,  and  insects.  I  was  not 
able  to  visit  it,  but  Mr.  Corsellis  described  it  as  a  very  dirty 
and  neglected  place,  which  though  it  has  considerable  endow- 
ments in  land,  only  serves  to  enrich  the  brahmins  who  manage 
it.  They  have  really  animals  of  several  different  kinds  there, 
not  only  those  which  are  accounted  sacred  by  the  Hindoos,  as 
monkeys,  peacocks,  &c.  but  horses,  dogs,  and  cats,  and  they 
have  also,  in  little  boxes,  an  assortment  of  lice  and  fleas.  It 
is  not  true,  however,  that  they  feed  those  pensioners  on  the 
flesh  of  beggars  hired  for  the  purpose.  The  brahmins  say 
that  insects,  as  well  as  the  other  inmates  of  their  infirmary, 
are  fed  with  vegetables  only,  such  as  rice,  &c.  How  the  in- 
sects thrive  I  did  not  hear,  but  the  old  horses  and  dogs,  nay, 
the  peacocks  and  apes,  are  allowed  to  starve,  and  the  only 
creatures  said  to  be  in  any  tolerable  plight  are  some  milch 
cows,  which  may  be  kept  from  other  motives  than  charity. 

Another  curiosity  in  this  neighbourhood  is  the  celebrated 
bur  or  banyan  tree,  called  Kuveer  Bur,  from  a  saint  who  is 
said  to  have  planted  it.  It  stands  on,  and  entirely  covers  an 
island  of  the  Nerbudda  about  twelve  miles  above  Broach.  Of 
this  tree,  which  has  been  renowned  ever  since  the  first  coming 
of  the  Portuguese  to  India,  which  is  celebrated  by  our  early 
voyagers  and  by  Milton,  and  which  the  natives  tell  us,  boast- 
ed a  shade  sufficient!}^  broad  to  shelter  10,000  horse,  a  consi- 
derable part  has  been  washed  away  with  the  soil  on  which  it 
stood,  within  these  few  years,  by  the  freshes  of  the  river,  but 
enough  remains,  as  I  was  assured,  to  make  it  one  of  the  no- 


KIM  CHOWKEE SERAI,  133 

blest  groves  in  the  world,  and  well  worthy  of  all  the  admira- 
tion which  it  has  received.  This  I  would  gladly  have  seen, 
but  I  had  too  many  motives  to  urge  me  on  to  Bombay  to  al- 
low of  my  sacriiicing,  as  I  apprehended  I  must  have  done, 
two  days  for  the  purpose  of  going  and  returning.  Had  I 
known  all  the  difficulties  of  the  usual  ferry  at  Broach,  I  should 
have  been  tempted  to  march  my  camp  round  by  a  ford  near 
this  famous  tree^  but  this,  like  most  other  matters  respecting 
Indian  travelling,  I  had  to  learn  by  experience. 

^pril  11.— This  day  we  crossed  the  Nerbudda,  a  task  at- 
tended with  considerable  expense,  and  great  delay  and  dif- 
ficulty, but,  happily,  without  harm  to  man  or  beast.  There 
was  only  one  horse-boat  properly  provided  with  a  platform, 
and  that  of  small  dimensions,  only  fit  to  carry  four  horses  at 
most,  while  the  going  and  returning  took  up  at  least  an  hour. 
The  camels  were  therefore,  to  be  packed  in  the  common  boats 
used  on  the  river,  which  were  indeed  large  and  stout  enough, 
but  such  as  they  were  very  unwilling  to  enter,  and  were 
forced  in  with  great  labour  and  difficulty,  as  well  as  much 
beating  and  violence  to  the  poor  animal  sj  we  got  over,  how- 
ever, soon  after  dark  in  the  evening,  and  slept  at  a  small  vil- 
lage named  Oklaisir  about  four  miles  and  a  half  from  the 
southern  bank.  We  crossed  over,  ourselves,  in  a  stout  boat, 
called  here  a  bundur  boat,  I  suppose  from  "  bundur,"  a  har- 
bour, with  two  masts  and  two  lateen  sails,  which  was  lent  us 
by  our  kind  host,  Mr.  Corsellis. 

April  12. — We  rode  to  Kim  Chowkee,  about  sixteen  miles, 
through  a  wilder  country  than  we  had  lately  seen,  with  a 
good  deal  of  jungle  and  some  herds  of  deer;  at  Kim  Chowkee 
is  a  large  Serai,  called  here  *^Durrumsallah,"  which  is  kept 
in  good  repair,  having  a  picquet  of  sepoys  to  protect  passen- 
gers from  robbers;  and,  in  one  angle  of  the  building,  a 
roomy  but  hot  and  ill-contrived  bungalow  for  European  tra- 
vellers. We  found  here,  (that  is,  in  the  low  corridores  and 
verandahs  of  the  building,)  a  considerable  crowd  of  Borah  in- 
habitants of  Surat,  who  had  come  out  thus  far  to  meet  the 
MouUah  of  their  sect,  whose  usual  residence  is  in  the  city, 
but  who  had  now  been  on  a  spiritual  journey  into  Malwah, 
where  he  had  narrowly  escaped  death  in  the  quarrel  between 
his  sect  and  the  Patans  at  Mundissore.  The  Patans,  indeed, 
had  declared,  in  revenge  for  the  death  of  their  own  preacher, 
whose  slaughter  I  have  already  mentioned,  that  the  Moullah 
should  never  return  to  Surat  alive,  and  the  news  of  his  near 
approach,  and  of  his  being  on  the  safe  side  of  the  Nerbudda 
had  called  out  an  enthusiasm  in  his  people,  such  as  the  sober 
and  money-making  Borahs  seem  to  be  not  often  suscepti- 
ble of. 


134  SURAT. 

The  men  whom  me  met  here  to-day  were  grave,  wealthy- 
looking  burghers,  travelling  in  covered  carts,  drawn,  each  ot 
them,  by  two  of  the  large  and  handsome  Guzerattee  oxen, 
and  ornamented  and  equipped  in  a  style  which  made  them  by 
no  means  inconvenient  or  inelegant  vehicles.  One  which 
was  destined  to  receive  the  Moullah  on  his  arrival,  w^as  a  sort 
of  miniature  coach  or  palanqueen  carriage  shaped  like  a  coach, 
with  Venetian  blinds,  and  very  handsomely  painted  dark 
green.  The  oxen  had  all  bells  round  their  necks,  and  the 
harness  of  many  was  plated  with  massive  silver  ornaments. 
The  Moullah  did  not  arrive  so  soon  as  he  was  expected, 
otherwise  the  Serai  would  have  oftered  the  spectacle  of  a  cu- 
rious mixture  of  creeds;  as  it  was,  we  had  Mussulmans  of 
three  different  sects,  (Omar,  Ali,  and  Hussun,)  Hindoos  of  al- 
most every  caste  from  brahmins  to  sweepers,  clivers  worship- 
pers of  lire,  several  Portuguese  Roman  Catholics,  an  English 
Bishop  and  Archdeacon  with  one  lay-member  of  their  sect,  a 
Scottish  Presbyterian,  and  two  poor  Greeks  from  Trebizond, 
who  were  on  a  begging  journey  to  redeem  their  families  from 
slavery.  The  whole  number  of  lodgers  in  and  about  the  Serai, 
probably,  did  not  fall  short  of  500  persons.  What  an  admi- 
rable scene  for  Eastern  romance  would  such  an  inn  as  this 
aflford ! 

Jipril  13.— From  Kim  Chowkee  to  the  river  Taptee  is  al- 
most fourteen  miles,  through  a  country  still  wild,  and  ill-cul- 
tivated, though,  apparently,  not  unfruitful.  The  district  is 
one  of  those  recently  acquired  by  the  Company  from  the 
ruins  of  the  Peishwah's  empire;  and  it  struck  me  that  its  ne- 
glected state  was  indicative  of  internal  misgovernment;  but  I 
afterwards  learned,  that  this  apparent  desolation  does  not  ex- 
tend far  from  the  road-side,  and  that,  in  point  of  fact,  the 
Collectorship  is  a  very  productive  one.  The  banks  of  the 
Taptee  are  prettily  edged  with  gardens,  and  here,  at  length, 
the  coco-nut  tree  re-appeared.  The  tide  was  out,  and  we 
passed  the  stream  by  fording;  on  the  other  bank  we  were  met 
by  Mr.  Homer,  the  Senior  Judge  of  the  Adawlut,  a  very  cle- 
ver and  agreeable  man,  who  had  kindly  asked  us  to  his  house, 
and  had  now  brought  carriages  to  meet  us. 

From  the  river-side  to  the  gates  of  Surat  are  four  miles  and 
a  half,  through  gardens  and  a  deep  sandy  lane;  thence  we 
drove  through  the  city,  nearly  two  miles,  to  Mr.  Homer's 
house,  where  we  found  spacious,  but  very  hot,  apartments 
provided  for  us.  Surat,  or  as  the  natives  pronounce  it,  Soo- 
rut,  (beauty,)  is  a  very  large  and  ugly  city,  with  narrow  wind- 
ing streets,  and  high  houses  of  timber-frames  filled  up  with 
bricks,  the  upper  stories  projecting  over  each  other.  The 
wall  is  entire  and  in  good  repair,  with  semicircular  bastions 


SURAT.  1 35 

and  battlements  like  those  of  the  Kremlin.  Its  destruction, 
or  abandonment  to  ruin,  has  been  more  than  once  talked  of; 
but  the  feeling  of  security  which  the  natives  derive  from 
such  a  rampart,  and  the  superior  facilities  which  it  atfords  to 
the  maintenance  of  a  good  police,  and  the  collection  of  the 
town  duties,  have,  with  good  reason,  preponderated  in  favour 
of  supporting  it.  The  circuit  of  the  city  is  about  six  miles  in 
a  semicircle,  of  which  the  river  Taptee  or  Tapee  forms  the 
chord;  near  the  centre  of  this  chord,  and  washed  by  the  river, 
stands  a  small  castle,  with  round  bastions,  glacis,  and  cover- 
ed way,  in  which  a  few  sepoys  and  European  artillerymen 
are  stationed,  and  which  is  distinguished  by  the  singularity 
of  two  flagstaves,  on  one  of  which  is  displayed  an  union-jack, 
on  the  other  a  plain  red  flag,  the  ancient  ensign  of  the  Empe- 
rors of  Delhi.  This  arrangement  was  adopted,  I  believe,  in 
courtesy,  at  the  time  when  the  East  India  Company  conquer- 
ed the  fort  from  the  Nawab  of  Surat,  and  has  never  since 
been  discontinued,  though  the  Nawab  like  the  Emperor  him- 
self, is  now  only  a  pensioner  on  the  bounty  or  justice  of  the 
Government.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  this  fort  are  most  of 
the  English  houses,  of  a  good  size,  and  surrounded  by  exten- 
sive compounds,  but  not  well  contrived  to  resist  heat,  and  ar- 
ranged with  a  strange  neglect  both  of  tatties  and  punkahs. 
Without  the  walls  are  a  French  factory,  containing  some 
handsome  and  convenient  buildings,  but  now  quite  deserted 
by  their  proper  owners,  and  occupied  by  dift'erent  English 
oflicers  who  pay  a  rent  to  some  country -born  people,  who  pre- 
tend to  have  an  interest  in  them,  and  a  Dutch  factory,  also 
empty,  the  chief  of  which  is  only  waiting  the  orders  of  his 
Government  to  surrender  this,  like  the  other  Dutch  settle- 
ments, to  the  English.  The  French  factory  had  been  re- 
stored to  that  nation  at  the  peace,  and  a  governor  and  several 
officers  came  to  take  possession.  The  diseases,  however,  of 
the  climate  attacked  them  with  unusual  severity.  The  go- 
vernor died,  and  his  suite  was  so  thinned  that  the  few  survi- 
vors returned  to  the  Isle  of  Bourbon,  whence  nobody  has  been 
sent  to  supply  their  place. 

The  trade  of  Surat,  indeed,  is  now  of  very  trifling-  conse- 
quence,  consisting  of  little  but  raw  cotton,  which  is  shipped 
in  boats  for  Bombay.  All  the  manufactured  goods  of  the 
country,  are  undersold  by  the  English,  except  kincob  and 
shawls,  for  which  there  is  very  little  demand;  a  dismal  decay 
has  consequently  taken  place  in  the  circumstances  of  the  na- 
tive merchants;  and  an  instance  fell  under  my  knowledge  in 
■which  an  ancient  Mussulman  family,  formerly  of  great  wealth 
and  magnificence,  were  attempting  to  dispose  of  their  library, 
a  very  valuable  one,  for  subsistence;     There  is  a  small  cou- 

VoL.  II.— 12 


136  SURAT. 

gregation  of  Armenians  in  a  state  of  decay  and  general  po- 
verty; but  the  most  thriving  people  are  the  Borahs,  (who  drive 
a  trade  all  through  this  part  of  India  as  bunyans  and  money- 
lenders,) and  the  Parsees.  These  last  are  proprietors  of  half 
the  houses  in  Surat,  and  seem  to  thrive  where  nobody  else 
but  the  Borahs  can  glean  even  a  scanty  maintenance.  The 
boats  which  lie  in  Surat  river  are  of  thirty  or  forty  tons,  half- 
decked,  with  two  masts  and  two  very  large  lateen  sails:  ves- 
sels of  greater  draught  must  lie  about  fifteen  miles  off,  below 
the  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Taptee,  but  except  the  ketches  in 
the  Company's  service,  few  larger  vessels  ever  come  here. 
The  English  society  is  unusually  numerous  and  agreeable,  as 
this  city  is  the  station  not  only  of  a  considerable  military 
force,  but  of  a  Collector,  a  Board  of  Custom,  a  Circuit  Court, 
and  the  Sudder  Adawlut  for  the  whole  Presidency  of  Bom- 
bay, which  for  the  greater  conveniency  of  the  people,  and  on 
account  of  its  central  situation,  Mr.  Elphinstone  has  wisely 
removed  hither.  There  is  a  very  neat  and  convenient  Church, 
which  I  consecrated  on  Sunday,  April  17th,  as  well  as  an  ex- 
tensive and  picturesque  burial  ground,  full  of  large  butruinous 
tombs  of  the  former  servants  of  the  Company:  most  of  these 
are  from  120  to  180  years  old,  and  in  the  Mussulman  style  of 
architecture,  with  large  apartments  surmounted  by  vaults,  and 
containing  within  two  or  three  tombs,  exactly  like  those  of 
the  Mahometans,  except  that  the  bodies  lie  East  and  West, 
instead  of  North  and  South.  The  largest  of  these  buildings 
is  that  in  memory  of  Sir  George  Oxenden,  one  of  the  earliest 
Governors  of  British  India,  at  the  time  when  British  India 
comprised  little  more  than  the  factory  at  this  place,  and  the 
then  almost  desolate  island  of  Bombay.  He  could  harldly  at 
that  time  have  even  dreamed  how  great  a  territory  his  coun- 
trymen would  possess  in  India;  yet  I  must  say  that  the  size 
and  solidity  of  his  sepulchre  is  not  unworthy  that  of  one  of  the 
first  founders  of  an  empire. 

I  neither  saw  nor  could  hear  of  any  distinguished  Mussul- 
man or  Hindoo  building  in  Surat.  The  Nawab's  residence  is 
modern,  but  not  particularly  handsome;  he  has  no  territory, 
but  a  pension  of  a  lack  and  a  half  per  annum.  He  sent  me 
some  civil  messages,  but  did  not  call.  He  is  said  to  be  a  young 
man,  much  addicted  to  low  company,  and  who  shuts  himself 
up  even  from  the  most  respectable  families  of  his  own  sect.  I 
received  civil  messages,  and  offers  of  visits  from  the  Borah 
MouUah, — the  Mogul  Cazi,  and  other  learned  Mussulmans, 
but  excused  myself,  being,  in  fact,  fully  occupied  and  a  good 
deal  oppressed  by  the  heat  which  almost  equalled  that  in 
Kairah,  and  exceeded  any  thing  which  I  had  felt  in  other  parts 
of  the  country.     On  the  whole,  Surat,  except  in  its  society. 


EMBARKATION.  137 

which  is  no  where  excelled  in  British  India,  appears  to  me  an 
uninteresting  and  unpleasant  city,  and,  in  beauty  of  situa- 
tion, inferior  even  to  Broach. 

The  Education  Society  of  Bombay  have  a  school  here,  where 
a  considerable  number  of  Parsee,  Mussulman,  and  Hindoo 
boys  are  instructed  in  writing,  reading,  arithmetic  and  Eno*- 
lish.  They  read  the  scriptures  as  a  text  book,  without  objec- 
tion, and  their  progress  seemed  highly  creditable.  Some  of 
the  boys  were  of  good  families.  The  schoolmaster  is  an  old 
soldier,  but  the  chief  conductor  of  the  school  is  Mr.  Jeffries 
the  chaplain. 

April  17. — We  left  Surat  in  a  large  lateen-sailed  boat  with 
twelve  rowers,  for  the  mouth  of  the  Taptee,  where  the  Vigi- 
lant Company's  ketch  was  waiting  to  receive  us.  The  bar  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  is  broad,  and  sometimes  said  to  be  for- 
midable to  boats.  When  we  passed  there  was  a  considerable 
swell,  but  the  surf  by  no  means  high  or  dangerous.  The  Vi- 
gilant we  found  a  vessel  of  about  sixty  tons,  very  neat  and 
clean,  with  a  good  cuddy,  and  two  small  cabins  partitioned 
from  it^  she  carried  six  little  carronades,  and  had  a  crew  of 
twenty  men;  twelve  sepoys,  who  form  a  part  of  its  establish- 
ment, had  been  removed,  to  make  room  for  us,  on  board  the 
two  country  boats  which  received  our  luggage  and  horses. 
The  Serang  was  a  Mussulman,  a  decent  and  intelligent  man, 
and  the  crew,  though  not  very  nimble  or  alert  in  their  move- 
ments, were,  to  all  appearance,  steady,  and  tolerably  ac- 
quainted with  their  business.  In  other  respects  the  bark  was 
a  bad  one;  a  heavy  sailer,  rolling  and  pitching  severely,  and  a 
bad  sea-boat,  having  the  scuppers  of  her  deck  so  low  in  the 
water  that  on  shipping  a  sea  the  crew  had  no  resource  but 
baleing.  The  wind,  which  had  been  for  some  time  unfavoura- 
ble, blew  almost  a  gale  from  the  S.  W.  and  we  remained  at 
anchor  the  whole  of  the  day,  tossing  and  pitching  very  un- 
comfortably. 

Early  next  morning  we  dropped  down  with  the  tide  for  a 
few  miles;  and,  the  wind  drawing  round  a  little  more  to  the 
north  as  the  sun  rose,  we  made  a  pretty  good  run  to  the  paral- 
lel of  Damaun,  a  Portuguese  settlement  at  the  foot  of  some 
high  hills,  and  thence  to  within  sight  of  the  yet  higher  range  of 
*'  St.  John."  We  ran  on  through  the  night. 

At  breakfast  on  Wednesday  the  19th,  we  passed  the  moun- 
tains of  Bassein,  exhibiting,  besides  some  meaner  elevations, 
one  very  high  hill  of  a  table  form,  and  another  not  quite  so 
elevated,  rising  in  a  conical  peak.  Thence  we  coasted  the 
islands  of  Salsette  and  Bombay,  both  rocky,  and  in  some  parts 
considerably  elevated,  but  with  the  high  mountains  of  the  Con- 
can  seen  rising  behind  both.     Though  at  a  considerable  dis- 


138  ARRIVAL  AT  BOMBAY. 

tance  from  the  shore,  we  passed  a  vast  number  of  bamboos, 
planted  as  fishing-stakes,  and  a  fleet  of  boats,  which,  like  all 
others  which  I  have  seen  on  this  coast,  had  large  lateen  sails. 
Thej  were  extremely  picturesque  5  and  though,  apparently, 
not  very  manageable,  made  their  way  fast  through  the  water  : 
they  could  not  tack,  but  wore  with  great  celerity  and  accu- 
racy ;  and,  though  their  gunwales  were  often  scarcely  above 
the  water,  impressed  me  with  the  idea  of  their  being  good  sea- 
boats,  and  good  sailers.  Their  style  of  rigging  difters  from 
that  of  the  Mediterranean,  in  that  they  have  seldom  more  than 
two  masts,  of  which  the  hinder  is  much  the  smallest.  They 
have  also  a  bowsprit,  and  their  sails,  instead  of  being  a  right- 
angled  triangle,  have  the  foremost  angle  cut  off,  so  as  to  bring 
them  nearer  the  principle  of  a  lug-sail.  They  are  very  white, 
being,  I  believe,  made  of  cotton.  As  the  sun  set  we  saw  the 
Bombay  light-house,  and,  about  midnight,  anchored  in  the 
mouth  of  the  harbour. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

BOMBAY. 

ISLAND    OF    ELEPHANTA SALSETTE-— GORA-BUNDER BASSEIIC 

CAVE    TEMPLE     OF     KENNERY PAREIL GRAN    OUTANG— 

JOURNEY    TO    POONAH GHATS-— CAVE  AT  CARLEE POONAH 

CONQUEST  AND  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  DECKAN CONSECRA- 
TION OF  THE  CHURCH  AT  TANNAHi — MR.  ELPHINSTONE DES- 
CRIPTION OF  THE  ISLAND   OF  BOMBAY DEPARTURE. 

April  25.— My  dear  wife  and  elder  girl  arrived  at  Bombay 
after  a  tedious  and  distressing  voyage,  both  from  weather  and 
sickness.  As  the  journal  kept  by  the  former  gives  a  just  idea 
of  the  principal  things  which  we  saw  in  Bombay  and  its  neigh- 
bourhood, I  shall  merely  make  a  few  observations  on  some  of 
the  more  striking  objects  and  occurrences. 

On  the  28th  was  my  visitation,  (a  confirmation  of  about  120 
children  had  occurred  a  few  days  before,)  attended  by  the 
Archdeacon,  (Dr.  Barnes,)  six  chaplains  and  one  missionary, 
being  all  within  a  reasonable  distance  of  Bombay. 

On  May  5th  the  foundation  of  a  Free  School,  on  the  same 
plan  with  that  of  Calcutta,  was  laid.  The  ceremony  was 
numerously  attended,  and  the  institution,  which  has  been  for 
some  time  in  activity,  though  in  a  hired  and  inconvenient 
building,  appears  very  flourishing,  and  likely  to  be  productive 
of  great  good.  The  plan  and  elevation  of  the  intended  schools.. 


ISLAND  OF  ELEPHANTA.  139 

by  Lieutenant  Jervis  of  the  Engineers,  I  think  a  very  elegant 
and  judicious  one. 

On  the  8th  we  went  to  see  Elephanta,  of  which  my  wife  has 
given  an  account  in  her  journal,*  and  of  which  a  more  regular 
description  is  needless  after  aU  which  Mr.  Erskine  and  others 
have  written  on  it.  I  will  only  observe  that  the  Island  of 
Elephanta,  or  Shapooree,  is  larger  and  more  beautiful  than  I 
expected,  containing,  I  should  suppose,  upwards  of  a  thousand 
aci'es,  a  good  deal  of  which  is  in  tillage,  with  a  hamlet  of  tole- 
rable size,  but  the  major  partis  very  beautiful  wood  and  rock, 
being  a  double-pointed  hill,  rising  from  the  sea  to  some  height. 
The  stone  elephant,  from  which  the  usual  Portuguese  name  of 
the  Island  is  derived,  stands  in  a  field  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  to  the  right  of  the  usual  landing-place.  It  is  about  three 
times  as  big  as  life,  rudely  sculptured,  and  very  much  dila- 
pidated by  the  weather.  The  animal  on  its  back,  which  Mr. 
Erskine  supposes  to  be  a  tiger,  has  no  longer  any  distinguish- 
able shape.  From  the  landing-place,  a  steep  and  narrow  path, 
but  practicable  for  palanqueens,  leads  up  the  hill,  winding 
prettily  through  woods  and  on  the  brinks  of  precipices,  so 
as  very  much  to  remind  me  of  Hawkstone.  About  half  a  mile 
up  is  the  first  cave,  which  is  a  sort  of  portico  supported  by 
two  pillars  and  two  pilasters,  and  seeming  as  if  intended  for 
the  entrance  to  a  rock  temple  which  has  not  been  proceeded 
in.  A  quarter  of  a  mile  further,  and  two-thirds  of  the  ascent 
up  the  higher  of  the  two  hills,  is  the  great  cavern,  in  a  magni- 
ficent situation,  and  deserving  all  the  praise  which  has  been 
lavished  on  it.  For  its  details  I  again  refer  to  Mr.  Erskine, 
merely  noticing  that,  though  my  expectations  were  highly 
raised,  the  reality  much  exceeded  them,  and  that  both  the 

*  The  principal  cave  is  of  considerable  extent,  excavated  out  of  the 
solid  rock,  and  the  roof  supported  by  pillars,  now  in  a  state  of  decay, 
carved  out  in  the  same  manner,  and  handsomely  ornamented.  The  dif- 
ferent shrines  which  contain  the  emblems  of  Hindoo  worship  are  placed 
on  either  side,  and,  generally,  their  entrances  are  g-uarded  by  colossal 
bas-relief  figures,  whilst  on  the  walls  are  sculptured  figures  of  Siva  and 
his  wife  Parvati,  the  former  in  one  compartment  with  a  chaplet  of  skulls 
round  his  neck,  and  with  eight  hands,  bearing  liis  usual  attributes  of  the 
Cobra  de  Capello,  also  of  colossal  size,  and  some  of  the  avatars  of  Vishnu, 
and  other  mythological  fables  of  their  religion.  Even  now  the  whole  is 
sadly  defaced,  and  though  an  European  serjeant  has  been  for  some 
years  appointed  to  preserve  it  from  injury  by  man,  the  climate  does  its 
work  of  devastation  slowly  but  surely,  and  it  appears  probable  that  at 
no  very  distant  period  little  will  remain  to  show  what  this  temple  had 
been  in  the  days  of  its  glory.  The  view  from  the  mouth  of  the  cavern 
is  very  beautiful.  Although  we  were  out  during  the  hottest  hours  of 
the  day,  in  one  of  the  worst  months,  we  never  were  much  oppressed 
by  the  heat.  In  Bengal  such  an  excursion  could  not  have  been  con- 
templated.— Extract  from  Editor's  JournaL 

12* 


140  ISLAND  OF  ELEPHANT  A. 

dimensions,  the  proportions,  and  the  sculpture,  seemed  tome 
to  be  of  a  more  noble  character,  and  a  more  elegant  execution, 
than  I  had  been  led  to  suppose.  Even  the  statues  are  execut- 
ed with  great  spirit,  and  are  some  of  them  of  no  common  beau- 
ty, considering  their  dilapidated  condition  and  the  coarseness 
of  their  material. 

At  the  upper  end  of  the  principal  cave,  which  is  in  the 
form  of  a  cross,  and  exceedingly  resembles  the  plan  of  an  an- 
cient basilica,  is  an  enormous  bust  with  three  faces,  reaching^ 
from  the  pavement  to  the  ceiling  of  the  temple.  It  has  gene- 
rally been  supposed,  and  is  so  even  by  Mr.  Erskine,  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  Trimurti,  or  Hindoo  Trinity,  Brahma,  Vish- 
nu, and  Siva.  But  more  recent  discoveries  have  ascertained 
that  Siva  himself,  to  whose  worship  and  adventures  most  of 
the  other  ornaments  of  the  cave  refer,  is  sometimes  repre- 
sented with  three  faces,  so  that  the  temple  is  evidently  one 
to  the  popular  deity  of  the  modern  Hindoos  alone.  Nor  could 
I  help  remarking,  that  the  style  of  ornament,  and  proportion& 
of  the  pillars,  the  dress  of  the  figures,  and  all  the  other  cir- 
cumstances of  the  place,  are  such  as  may  be  seen  at  this  day 
in  every  temple  of  Central  India,  and  among  all  those  Indian 
nations  where  the  fashions  of  the  Mussulmans  have  made  but 
little  progress.  Those  travellers  who  fancied  the  contrary, 
had  seen  little  of  India  but  Bombay.  From  these  circum- 
stances, then,  nothing  can  be  learned  as  to  the  antiquity  of 
this  wonderful  cavern,  and  I  am  myself  disposed,  for  several 
reasons,  to  think  that  this  is  not  very  remote. 

The  rock  out  of  which  the  temple  is  carved,  is  by  no  means 
calculated  to  resist,  for  any  great  length  of  time,  the  ravages 
of  the  weather.  It  evidently  suffers  much  from  the  annual 
rains;  a  great  number  of  the  pillars,  (nearly  one-third  of  the 
whole,)  have  been  undermined  by  the  accumulation  of  water 
in  the  cavern,  and  the  capitals  of  some,  and  part  of  the  shafts 
of  others,  remain  suspended  from  the  top  like  huge  stalactites, 
the  bases  having  completely  mouldered  away.  These  ravages 
are  said  to  have  greatly  increased  in  the  memory  of  persons 
now  resident  in  Bombay,  though  for  many  years  back  the 
cave  has  been  protected  from  wanton  depredation,  and  though 
the  sculptures,  rather  than  the  pillars,  would  probably  have 
suffered  from  that  vulgar  love  of  knick-knacks  and  specimens 
which  prevails  among  the  English,  more  than  most  nations  of 
the  world. 

A  similar  rapidity  of  decomposition  has  occurred  in  the 
elephant  already  spoken  of,  which,  when  Niebuhr  saw  it,  was, 
by  his  account,  far  more  perfect  than  it  now  is.  But  if  thirty 
or  forty  years  can  have  produced  such  changes  in  this  cele- 
brated temple,  it  is  hardly  reasonable  to  suppose  that  any 


EXCURSION  TO  SALSETTE.  141 

part  of  it  is  so  old  as  is  sometimes  apprehended.  It  has  been 
urged,  as  a  ground  for  this  apprehension,  that  the  Hindoos  of 
the  present  day  pay  no  reverence  to  this  temple,  or  its  images. 
This  is  not  altogether  true,  since  I  myself  noticed  very  recent 
marks  of  red  paint  on  one  of  the  lingams,  and  flowers  are  no- 
toriously offered  up  here  by  the  people  of  the  island.  It  is, 
however,  certainly  not  a  famous  place  among  the  Hindoos. 
No  pilgrims  come  hither  from  a  distance,  nor  are  there  any 
brahmins  stationary  at  the  shrine.  But  this  proves  nothing 
as  to  its  antiquity,  inasmuch  as  the  celebrity  of  a  place  of 
worship,  with  them,  depends  on  many  circumstances  quite 
distinct  from  the  size  and  majesty  of  the  building.  Its  founder 
may  have  died  before  he  had  completed  his  work,  in  which 
case  nobody  would  go  on  with  it.  He  may  have  failed  in  con- 
ciliating the  brahminsj  or,  supposing  it  once  to  have  been  a 
place  of  eminence,  which  is  a  mere  gratis  assumption,  since 
■we  have  neither  inscription,  history,  or  legend  to  guide  us,-— 
it  is  impossible  to  say  when  or  how  it  may  have  been  dese- 
crated, whether  by  the  first  Mussulman  invaders,  or  by  the 
Portuguese  in  the  sixteenth  centur3\  From  the  supposed  ne- 
glect of  the  natives,  therefore,  nothing  can  be  concluded,  in- 
asmuch as,  from  the  exact  similarity  of  mythology  between 
these  sculptures,  and  the  idols  of  the  present  day,  it  is  plain 
that  this  neglect  does  not  arise  from  any  change  of  customs. 
It  has  been  urged,  that  the  size  and  majesty  of  the  excavation 
compel  us  to  suppose  that  it  must  have  been  made  by  some 
powerful  Hindoo  sovereign,  and,  consequently,  before  the 
first  Mussulman  invasion.  This  would  be  no  very  appalling 
antiquity;  but,  even  for  this,  there  is  no  certain  ground.  The 
expense  and  labour  of  the  undertaking  are  really  by  no  means 
so  enormous  as  might  be  fancied.  The  whole  cavern  is  a 
mere  trifle  in  point  of  extent,  when  compared  with  the  great 
salt-mine  at  North wich;  and  there  are  now,  and  always  have 
been.  Rajas,  and  wealthy  merchants  in  India,  who,  though 
not  enjoying  the  rank  of  independent  sovereigns,  are  not  une- 
qual to  the  task  of  hewing  a  huge  stone  quarry  into  a  cathe- 
dral. On  the  whole,  in  the  perfect  absence  of  any  inscrip- 
tion or  tradition  which  might  guide  us,  we  may  assign  to 
Elephanta  any  date  we  please.  It  may  be  as  old  as  the 
Parthenon,  or  it  may  be  as  modern  as  Henry  Vllth's  chapel. 
But  though  the  truth  probably  lies  between  the  two,  I  am  cer- 
tainly not  disposed  to  assign  to  it  any  great  degree  of  antiquity. 
We  accompanied  the  governor  and  a  large  party  on  a  tour 
through  Salsette  on  the  25th,  26th,  27th,  and  28th.*  This  is 

•An  excursion  to  Salsette  to  see  the  cave, temple  of  Kennery,  toge- 
ther with  some  interesting  places  on  the  island,  had  for  some  time  been 


142  EXCURSION  TO  SALSETTE. 

a  very  beautiful  island,  united  with  the  smaller  one  of  Bombay 
by  a  causeway,  built  in  the  time  of  governor  Duncan,  a  work 

in  contemplation,  and  we  set  out  on  the  25th  to  join  Mr.  Elphinstone 
and  a  larg-e  party  at  Toolsey.  On  leaving  Matoonga,  an  artillery  can- 
tonment about  the  centre  of  the  island,  the  country  became  interest- 
ing as  well  from  its  novelty  as  from  its  increased  beauty.  The  road  lay 
principally  through  a  valley  formed  by  hills  of  a  moderate  height,  covered 
wherever  the  rocks  allowed  of  its  growth,  with  underwood  to  their  sum- 
mits, while  the  valleys  were  planted  with  groves  of  mangoes  and  palms, 
with  some  fine  timber  trees.  A  very  shallow  arm  of  the  sea  divides 
Bombay  from  Salsette,  and  on  an  eminence  commanding  it  is  a  fort, 
apparently  of  some  strength,  built  originally  as  a  defence  against  the 
Maharattas,  and  still  inhabited  by  an  European  officer  with  a  small 
guard;  the  islands  are  now  connected  by  a  causeway.  The  mountains 
in  Salsette  are  considerably  higher  than  those  of  Bombay,  but  covered 
with  thicker  jungle,  while  the  valleys  are  more  shut  in,  and  conse- 
quently less  healthy.  We  saw  but  few  traces  of  inhabitants  during  a 
drive  of  eight  miles,  passing  but  one  small  village  consisting  of  a  most 
miserable  collection  of  huts. 

At  Vear  we  left  our  carriages,  and  proceeded  on  horseback  and  in 
palanqueens  through  the  jungle  to  Toolsey,  the  pkce  of  our  encamp- 
ment. This  lovely  spot  is  surrounded  by  mountains  of  considerable 
height,  forming  a  small  wooded  amphitheatre,  in  the  centre  of  which 
grows  a  fine  banyan-tree.  Here  our  tents  were  pitched,  and  I  never 
saw  a  more  beautiful  scene  than  it  afforded.  The  brilliant  colours  and 
varieties  of  dress  on  innumerable  servants,  the  horses  bivouacked  under 
the  trees  with  each  its  attendant  saees,  the  bullocks,  carts,  hackeries, 
and  natives  of  all  descriptions  in  crowds,  the  fires  prepared  for  cook- 
ing, the  wliite  tents  pitched  in  the  jungle,  together  with  the  groupes 
formed  by  the  different  parties  on  their  arrival,  altogether  formed  a 
coup  d'ceil  which  I  can  never  forget,  and  which  can  be  only  seen  in  a 
tropical  climate. 

Our  tent  was  pitched  close  to  a  tyger-trap,  then  unset ;  there  are  a 
good  many  tigers  in  the  island,  and  one  was  killed  a  short  time  previ- 
ous to  our  amval.  This  was  the  first  night  I  had  ever  slept  under  can- 
vass, and  but  for  the  heat,  which  was  intense,  I  could  not  have  wished 
for  more  comfortable  quarters  ;  but  Toolsey,  from  its  peculiar  situation, 
is  reckoned  one  of  the  hottest  places  in  India. 

Early  the  next  morning  the  Bishop  and  I  mounted  our  horses,  and 
took  an  exploring  ride  among  tlie  rocks  and  woods  ;  some  rain  had  fal- 
len in  the  night,  which  had  cooled  and  refreshed  the  air.  The  morning 
was  delightful,  a  number  of  singing-birds,  among  whose  notes  I  could 
distinguish  those  of  the  nightingale  and  thrush,  were  performing  a 
beautiful  concert,  while  the  jungle-fowl  were  crowing  merrily  all  around, 
and  monkeys,  the  first  which  I  had  seen  in  their  natural  state,  were 
sporting  with  their  young  ones  among  the  trees  ;  I  enjoyed  the  ride  ex- 
ceedingly, and  left  the  rocks  with  regret,  though,  from  the  sun  being 
clouded  over,  we  had  been  already  enabled  to  stay  out  till  eight 
o'clock. 

After  breakfast,  at  which  meal  we  all  assembled  in  the  public  tent, 
some  Cashmerian  singers,  with  one  Nachman,  dressedin  female  clothes, 
amused  us  with  their  songs  and  national  dances.  Some  of  their  tunes 
were  very  pretty,  and  the  dancing  was  more  energetic  than  any  which 
I  had  seen  in  Calcutta,  and  generally  accompanied  the  singing;  at  the 


EXCURSION  TO  SALSETTE.  143 

of  great  convenience  to  the  natives,  who  bring  vegetables  to 
the  Bombay  market,  but  so  narrow,  and  with  so  inconvenient 

end  of  each  verse  the  performer  made  a  pirouette,  and  squatted  down, 
forming-  with  his  clothes  what,  in  our  counties,  is  called  a  Cheshire- 
cheese. 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  set  out,  some  on  horse-back,  and 
some  in  palanqueens,  to  the  caves  with  which  the  hill  is  literally  per- 
forated  It  was  late  before  we  returned.     Our  path  wound  along- 

the  sides  of  the  rocks,  and  was  hardly  wide  enough  in  places  for  a 
palanqueen  to  pass.  The  effect  of  so  large  a  party  proceeding  in  single 
file,  with  torches,  occasionally  appearing  and  disappearing,  among  the 
rocks  and  woods,  with  a  bright  Indian  moon  shining  over-head,  was 
picturesque  and  beautiful  in  the  highest  degree.  I  happened  to  be 
the  last,  and  had  a  full  view  of  the  procession,  which  extended  for 
nearly  half  a  mile.  In  northern  latitudes  one  can  form  no  idea  of  the 
brilliancy  of  the  moon,  nor  of  the  beauty  of  a  night  such  as  this,  ren- 
dered more  enjoyable  from  the  respite  which  it  affords  from  the  heat 
of  the  day. 

April  25. — We  left  our  tents  early  the  next  morning,  Mrs.  Macdonald 
and  I,  with  most  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  party,  on  horseback,  to  pro- 
ceed to  Tanna,  a  town  with  a  fort,  on  the  eastern  coast  of  the  island. 
From  thence  to  Salsette  we  went  in  a  bunder  boat,  and  there  embarked 
on  board  the  Governor's  yacht,  where  we  found  breakfast  prepared,  and 
sailed  for  about  seven  miles  through  scenery  of  a  very  remarkable  cha- 
racter. The  islands  between  which  we  passed  lie  so  close  to  each 
other,  that  I  could  scarcely  believe  myself  on  the  sea.  On  one  side  the 
prospect  is  bounded  by  the  magnificent  Ghats,  with  their  fantastic  ba- 
Baltic  summits,  and  the  islands  are  occasionally  adorned  with  ruins  of 
Portuguese  churches  and  convents.  In  one  of  these,  Gorabunder, 
situated  on  a  steep  eminence,  and  guarded  by  a  fort,  we  dined  and 
slept. 

Jpril  28. — We  embarked  after  breakfast  in  the  yacht  to  go  to  Bas- 
sein,  formerly  a  fortified  Portuguese  town,  in  Arungabad,  which  was 
taken  by  the  Maharattas  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  since 
ceded  to  the  English.  When  we  arrived  under  its  walls,  we  found  ouy 
palanqueens  were  not  come  ;  and,  as  the  water-gate  was  shut,  we  set 
off  to  walk  to  the  opposite  side.  We  walked  for  nearly  two  miles,  ex- 
posed to  the  noon-day  sun,  tl\e  heat  increased  by  the  reflection  from 
the  white  walls,  with  the  sand,  ankle-deep,  so  hot  as  to  be  painful  to 
our  feet,  while  to  the  bare-footed  natives  it  was  absolutely  insupporta- 
ble, and  they  fairly  ran  off. 

I  do  not  tliink  the  ruins  themselves  repaid  us  for  the  trouble  we  had 
taken  to  see  them,  as,  with  the  exception  of  a  pagoda,  with  the  sacred 
bull  well  carved  at  its  entrance,  they  were  all  in  the  style  of  conven- 
tual architecture  common  in  tlie  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  ; 
but  I  was  much  struck,  on  entering  the  massive  and  well-guarded  gate, 
with  the  scene  of  utter  desolation  which  presented  itself;  it  reminded 
me  of  some  story  of  enchantment  which  I  had  read  in  my  childhood, 
and  I  could  almost  have  expected  to  see  the  shades  of  its  original  inha- 
bitants flitting  about  among  the  jungle,  which  now  grows  in  melan- 
choly luxuriance  in  the  courts  and  areas  of  churches,  convents,  and 
houses.  We  none  of  us  suffered  from  the  fatigue  and  heat,  another  con- 
vincing proof  of  the  innoxious  effects  of  the  sjin  here  as  compared  with 
Bengal.     On  our  return  to  Gorabunder,  we  found  all  things  ready  fo» 


144  EXCURSION  TO  SALSETTE. 

an  angle  in  its  course,  that  many  Europeans  object  to  pass  it 
in  carriages.  We  went  over,  however,  without  scruple,  as 
there  is,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  no  real  danger.  Some 
persons  maintain  that  the  construction  of  this  causeway  has 
done  harm  to  the  upper  part  of  the  harbour  by  diminishing  its 
back-water.  The  thing  is  certainly  possible,  but  I  could  not 
find  any  naval  men  who  ascribed  much  weight  to  it. 

Beyond,  the  woody  hills  of  Salsette  rise  very  majestically; 
and  the  road  which  winds  at  their  feet  round  the  island,  offers 
many  points  of  view  of  uncommon  beauty  and  interest.  These 
roads  are  equal  to  the  best  in  Europe,  and  are  now  receiving 
an  additional  improvement  by  the  adoption,  though  but  an 
incomplete  and  misunderstood  one,  of  M' Adam's  system.  In 
other  respects  the  country  is  strangely  unimproved,  having  no 
towns  except  Tannah  and  Gorabunder,  (the  first  of  which  is 
indeed  a  neat  and  flourishing  place, — the  other  not  much  bet- 
ter than  a  poor  village,)  very  little  cultivation  except  the  tara- 
palm  and  coco-nut,  which  grow  almost  spontaneously  amid 
the  jungle,  and  displaying  in  the  cottages  of  its  peasantry  a 
degree  of  poverty  and  rudeness  which  I  had  seen  no  where  in 
India  except  among  the  Bheels.  Notwithstanding,  indeed, 
its  vicinity  to  the  seat  of  government,  no  small  proportion  of 
its  inhabitants  are  at  this  day  in  a  state  as  wild  as  the  wildest 
Bheels,  and  their  customs  and  manners  as  little  known  as 
those  of  the  Goonds  in  Central  India.  These  are  the  burners 
of  charcoal,  an  occupation  exercised  by  a  peculiar  caste,  who 
dwell  entirely  in  the  woods,  have  neither  intermarriage  nor 
intercourse  with  the  Hindoo  inhabitants  of  the  plain,  and  bring 
down  their  loads  of  charcoal  to  particular  spots,  whence  it  is 
carried  away  by  these  last,  who  deposit  in  its  place  a  payment 
settled  by  custom,  of  rice,  clothing,  and  iron  tools.  This  is 
the  account  given  me  by  Mr.  Elphinstone,  the  governor  of  Bom- 
bay, who  has  made  several  attempts  to  become  better  acquaint- 
ed with  this  unfortunate  tribe,  but  has  only  very  imperfectly 
succeeded,  owing  to  their  excessive  shyness,  and  the  contempt 
in  which  they  are  held  by  their  Hindoo  neighbours.  I  have 
felt  much  anxiety  to  learn  more,  under  an  idea,  that  among 
such  a  race  as  these,  the  establishment  of  schools,  and  a  mis- 
sionary, would,  at  least,  meet  with  no  opposition.  But  I  have 
been  unsuccessful  in  my  inquiries,  and  where  Mr.  Elphin- 
stone, with  his  extraordinary  talents  and  great  opportunities 
had  learned  so  little,  I  was  not  likely  to  succeed  better. 

This  neglected  and  uncivilized  state  of  Salsette  is  the  more 

our  journey  to  Bombay,  where  we  arrived  late  at  night,  much  interest- 
ed and  gratified  by  all  we  had  seen  and  done. — Extract  from  the  Editor's 
Journal. 


EXCURSION  TO  SALSETTE.  145 

remarkable,  not  only  because  the  neighbourhood  of  Bombay, 
and  the  excessive  price  of  provisions  there,  would  seem  to  lead 
to  the  cultivation  of  every  inch  of  ground,  but  because  the 
numerous  ruins  of  handsome  churches  and  houses  remaining 
from  the  old  Portuguese  settlements,  prove,  no  less  than  the 
accounts  of  the  island  by  Fryer  and  Delia  Valle,  that,  in  their 
time,  and  under  their  government,  a  very  different  face  of 
things  was  presented.  The  original  ruin  of  the  country,  would, 
no  doubt,  naturally  follow  its  conquest  from  the  Portuguese 
by  the  Maharattas.  But,  as  thirty  years  and  upwards  have 
passed  since  the  Maharattas  ceded  it  to  us,  it  seems  strange 
that  a  country  which,  as  Mr.  Elphinstone  assured  me,  is 
neither  sterile  nor  unwholesome,  should  remain  so  little  im- 
proved. The  population,  however,  poor  as  it  is,  and  chiefly 
occupied  in  fishing,  amounts  to  50,000,  a  number  which  might 
be  trebled  if  cultivation  were  extended  at  any  thing  like  the 
rate  which  it  has  been  done  in  Bengal.  But  Salsette  seems 
a  spot  where,  of  all  others,  European  colonization  v/ould  be 
most  harmless  and  beneficial.  It  has,  however,  been  attempted 
in  two  instances  only,  and,  to  be  successful,  seems  to  require 
a  more  advantageous  and  permanent  tenure  than  the  Com- 
pany have  yet  been  induced  to  grant  of  their  lands,  and,  per- 
haps, a  freer  trade  in  sugar  than  the  present  colonial  system 
of  England  allows  to  her  eastern  empire. 

Tannah  is  chiefly  inhabited  by  Roman  Catholic  Christians, 
either  converted  Hindoos  or  Portuguese,  who  have  become  as 
black  as  the  natives,  and  assumed  all  their  habits.  It  has, 
also,  a  considerable  cantonment  of  British  troops,  a  collector 
and  magistrate,  for  whose  use  a  very  neat  Church  was  build- 
ing when  I  first  visited  it.  There  is  a  small  but  regular  for- 
tress, from  which  during  the  late  Maharatta  war,  Trimbuckgee 
escaped  in  the  manner  I  have  elsewhere  related.  Tannah,  as 
I  afterwards  learned  from  a  Parsee  innkeeper  at  Panwellee, 
is  also  famous  for  its  breed  of  hogs,  and  the  manner  in  which 
its  Portuguese  inhabitants  cure  bacon.  It  receives  a  monthly 
visit  from  the  Chaplain  stationed  at  Matoonga,  the  head-quar- 
ters of  the  artillery  in  the  island  of  Bombay. 

At  Gorabunder  is  a  small  but  handsome  building,  nearly  in 
the  form  of  a  church,  with  a  nave  leading  to  a  circular  chancel, 
covered  with  a  high  cupola,  and  surrounded  by  a  verandah. 
The  whole  is  arched  with  stone,  and  very  solidly  built.  It  is 
generally  regarded  as  having  been  a  Portuguese  Church,  but 
has  not  been  used  as  such  in  the  memory  of  man,  and  differs 
from  most  other  churches,  in  having  its  entrance  at  the  East 
instead  of  the  West  end.  It  is  now  used  as  an  occasional  resi- 
dence for  the  Governor  and  his  friends,  and  is,  in  fact,  a  very 


146  EXCURSION  TO  SALSETTE. 

cool  and  convenient  house  for  this  climate  and  commands  a 
magnificent  view. 

About  fifteen  miles  from  Gorabunder,  on  the  main  land,  is 
the  city  of  Bassein,  once  a  celebrated  colony  of  the  Portu- 
guese, taken  from  them  by  tlie  Maharattas,  and  lost  by  them 
to  the  English.  It  is  of  considerable  size,  and  surrounded  by 
a  regular  fortification  of  rampart  and  bastions,  but  without  a 
glacis,  which,  from  the  marshy  nature  of  the  surrounding 
country,  was,  perhaps,  thought  needless.  There  is  a  small 
guard  stationed  in  one  of  the  gates,  under  an  English  con- 
ductor of  ordnance,  and  the  place  is  kept  locked  up,  but  is 
within  perfectly  uninhabited,  and  containing  nothing  but  a 
single  small  pagoda  in  good  repair,  and  a  melancholy  display 
of  ruined  houses  and  Churches.  Of  the  latter  there  are  no 
fewer  than  seven,  some  of  considerable  size,  but  all  of  mean 
architecture,  though  they  are  striking  from  the  lofty  propor- 
tions usual  in  Roman  Catholic  places  of  worship,  and  from 
the  singularity  of  Christian  and  European  ruins  in  India. 
The  largest  of  these  churches,  I  was  assured  by  a  Maharatta 
of  rank,  a  protege  of  Mr.  Elphinstone's,  who  accompanied  us, 
was  built  by  a  man  who  had  made  a  large  fortune  by  selling 
slippers.  It  contains  no  inscription,  that  I  could  see,  to  con- 
firm or  invalidate  this  testimony,  nor  any  date  whatever,  but 
one  on  a  monument  to  a  certain  Donna  Maria  de  Souza,  of 
1606. 

The  Portuguese  Churches  in  this  place  and  Salsette,  are  all 
in  a  paltry  style  enough,  of  Grecian  mixed  with  Gothic,  in 
Bassein  they  have  tower  steeples  without  spires,  in  Salsette 
the  small  arched  pediment  to  hang  the  bell  which  is  usual  in 
Wales.  Their  roofs,  where  they  remain,  are  very  steep  and 
covered  with  tiles,  and  one  of  those  in  Bassein,  which  appears 
to  have  belonged  to  a  house  of  Jesuits,  has  the  remains  of  a 
handsome  coved  ceiling  of  teak,  carved  and  gilded.  They  are 
melancholy  objects  to  look  at,  but  they  are  monuments,  never- 
theless, of  departed  greatness,  of  a  love  of  splendour  far  supe- 
rior to  the  anxiety  for  amassing  money  by  which  other  nations 
have  been  chiefly  actuated,  and  of  a  zeal  for  God  which,  if  not 
according  to  knowledge,  was  a  zeal  still,  and  a  sincere  one.  It 
was  painful  to  me,  at  the  time,  to  think,  how  few  relics,  if 
the  English  were  now  expelled  from  India,  would  be  left  be- 
hind of  their  religion,  their  power,  or  their  civil  and  military 
magnificence.  Yet  on  this  side  of  India  there  is  really  more 
zesd  and  liberality  displayed  in  the  improvement  of  the  coun- 
try, the  construction  of  roads  and  public  buildings,  the  conci- 
liation of  the  natives  and  their  education,  than  I  have  jet  seen 
in  Bengal.  Mr.  Elphinstone  is  evidently  anxious  to  do  all  in 
his  power  to  effect  these  objects. 


BUDDHIST    TEMPLE.  147 

The  principal  curiosities  of  Salsette,  and  those  which  were 
uiir  main  object  in  this  little  tour,  are  the  cave  temples  of 
Kennerj.     These  are,  certainly,   in  every  way  remarkable 
from  their  number,  their  beautiful  situation,  their  elaborate 
carving,  and  their  marked  connexion  with  Buddha  and  his  re- 
ligion.     The  caves  are  scattered  over  two  sides  of  a  high 
rocky  hill,  at  many  difterent  elevations,  and  of  various  sizes 
and  forms.     Most  of  them  appear  to  have  been  places  of  habi- 
tation for  monks  or  hermits.     One  very  beautiful  apartment 
of  a  square  form,  its  walls  covered  with  sculpture,  and  sur- 
rounded internally  by  a  broad  stone  bench,  is  called  "the 
durbar,"  but  I  should  rather  guess  had  been  a  school.    Many 
have  deep  and  well-carved  cisterns  attached  to  them,  which, 
even  in  this  dry  season,  were  well  supplied  with  water.    The 
largest  and  most  remarkable  of  all  is  a  Buddhist  temple,  of 
great  beauty  and  majesty,  and  which  even  in  its  present  state 
would  make  a  very  stately  and  convenient  place  of  Christian 
worship.     It  is  entered  through  a  line  and  lofty  portico,  hav- 
ing on  its  front,  but  a  little  to  the  left  hand,  a  high  detached 
octagonal  pillar,  surmounted  by  three  lions  seated  back  to 
back.     On  the  east  side  of  the  portico  is  a  colossal  statue  of 
Buddha,  with  his  hands  raised  in  the  attitude  of  benediction, 
and  the  screen  which  separates  the  vestibule  from  the  temple 
is  covered  immediately  above  the  dodo,  with  a  row  of  male 
and  female  figures  nearly  naked,  but  not  indecent,  and  carved 
with  considerable, spirit,  which  apparently  represent  dancers. 
In  the  centre  is  a  large  door,  and  above  it,  three  windows 
contained  in  a  semicircular  arch,  so  like  those  which  are  seen 
over  the  entrance  of  Italian  churches,  that  I  fully  supposed 
them  to  be  an  addition  to  the  original  plan  by  the  Portuguese, 
who  are  said,  I  know  not  on  what  ground,  to  have  used  this 
cave  as  a  Church,  till  I  found  a  similar  and  still  more  striking 
window  of  the  same  kind  in  the  great  cave  of  Carlee.   Within, 
the  apartment  is,  I  should  conceive,  fifty  feet  long  by  twenty, 
an  oblong  square  terminated  by  a  semicircle,  and  surrounded 
on  every  side  but  that  of  the  entrance,  with  a  colonnade  of  octa- 
gonal pillars.    Of  these  the  twelve  on  each  side  nearest  the  en- 
trance are  ornamented  with  carved  bases  and  capitals,  in  the 
style  usual  in  Indian  temples.     The  rest  are  unfinished. 

In  the  centre  of  the  semicircle,  and  wdth  a  free  walk  all 
round  it,  is  a  mass  of  rock  left  solid,  but  carved  externally  like 
a  dome,  and  so  as  to  bear  a  strong  general  likeness  to  our  Sa- 
viour's sepulchre,  as  it  is  now  chiseled  away  and  enclosed  in 
St  Helena's  Church  at  Jerusalem.  On  the  top  of  the  dome  is 
a  sort  of  spreading  ornament  like  the  capital  of  a  column.  It 
is,  apparently,  intended  to  support  something,  and  I  w^as  af- 
terwards told  at  Carlee.  where  such  an  ornament,  but  of  greater 
Vol.  II.— 13 


143  BUDDHIST  TEMPLES. 

size,  is  also  found,  that  a  large  gilt  umbrella  used  to  spring 
from  it.  This  solid  dome  appears  to  be  the  usual  symbol  ot 
Buddhist  adoration,  and,  with  its  umbrella  ornament,  may  be 
traced  in  the  Shoo-Madoo  of  Pegu,  and  other  more  remote 
structures  of  the  same  faith.  Though  it  is  different  in  its 
form  and  style  of  ornament  from  the  lingam,  I  cannot  help 
thinking  it  has  been  originally  intended  to  represent  the  same 
popular  object  of  that  almost  universal  idolatry,  which  Scrip- 
ture, with  good  reason,  describes  as  "uncleanness  and  abomi- 
nation." 

The  ceiling  of  this  cave  is  arched  semicircularly,  and  orna- 
mented in  a  very  singular  manner,  with  slender  ribs  of  teak- 
wood  of  the  same  curve  with  the  roof,  and  disposed  as  if  they 
were  supporting  it,  which,  however,  it  does  not  require,  nor 
are  they  strong  enough  to  answer  the  purpose.  Their  use 
may  have  been  to  hang  lamps  or  flowers  from  in  solemn  re- 
joicings. My  companions  in  this  visit,  who  showed  themselves 
a  little  jealous  of  the  antiquity  of  these  remains,  and  of  my 
inclination  to  detract  from  it,  would  have  had  me  suppose  that 
these  two  were  additions  by  the  Portuguese.  But  there  are 
similar  ribs  at  Carlee  where  the  Portuguese  never  were.  They 
cannot  be  very  old,  and  though  they  certainly  may  have  been 
added  or  renewed  since  the  building  was  first  constructed, 
they  must,  at  all  events,  refer  to  a  time  when  it  and  the  forms 
of  its  worship  were  held  in  honour.  The  question  will  remain, 
how  late  or  how  early  the  Buddhists  ceased  to  be  rich  and 
powerful  in  Western  India.^  or  when,  if  ever,  the  followers  of 
the  Brahminical  creed  were  likely  to  pay  honour  to  Buddhist 
symbols  of  the  Deity? 

The  latter  question  is  at  variance  with  all  usual  opinions  as 
to  the  difference  between  these  sects  and  the  animosity  which 
has  ever  prevailed  betwixt  them.  But  I  have  been  very  forci- 
bly struck  by  the  apparent  identity  of  the  Buddhist  chattah 
and  the  Brahminical  lingam.  The  very  name  of  the  great 
temple  of  Ava,  "Shoo-Madoo,"  "  Golden  Maha-Deo,"  seems 
to  imply  a  greater  approximation  than  is  generally  supposed, 
and  above  all,  a  few  weeks  afterwards,  I  found  the  cave  of 
Carlee  in  the  keeping  of  Brahmins,  and  honoured  by  them 
as  a  temple  of  Maha-Deo.  All  this  seems  to  prove  that  we 
know  very  little  indeed  of  the  religious  history  of  India,  that 
little  or  no  credit  can  be  given  to  the  accounts  contained  in 
the  Brahminical  writings,  and  that  these  accounts,  even  if  true, 
may  refer  to,  comparatively,  a  small  part  of  India,  while  what- 
ever is  the  date  of  these  illustrious  caverns,  (and  Kennery  I 
really  should  guess  to  be  older  than  Elephanta,)  no  stress  can 
be  laid  either  way  on  their  identity  or  discrepancy  with  the 
modern   superstition  of  the  country,  or  the  alleged  neglect 


EXCURSION  TO  SALSETTE.  149 

of  the  natives.  On  one  of  the  pillars  of  the  portico  of  the 
great  cave  at  Kennery  is  an  inscription  in  a  character  differ- 
ent both  from  theNagree  and  the  popular  running  hand  which, 
more  than  Nagree,  prevails  with  the  Maharattas. 

There  are  many  similar  instances  in  different  parts  of  India 
of  inscriptions  in  characters  now  unintelligible;  nor  will  any 
one  who  knows  how  exceedingly  incurious  the  Brahmins  are 
on  all  such  subjects,  wonder  that  they  are  not  able  to  assist 
Europeans  in  decyphering  them.  But  it  would  be  a  very  use- 
ful, and  by  no  means  a  difficult  task,  to  collect  copies  of  some 
of  the  most  remarkable,  and  com.pare  them  with  each  other; 
since  we  should  thus,  at  least,  ascertain  whether  one  or  many 
characters  prevailed  in  India  before  the  use  of  the  present  al- 
phabets; and,  in  the  first  case,  from  the  knowledge  of  the  date 
of  some  few  buildings,  where  this  character  is  found,  be  able 
to  guess  that  of  others  whose  history  is  unknown.  The  in- 
scription of  Pertaubghur,  that  on  the  column  of  Firoze  Shah 
at  Delhi,  and  on  the  similar  column  at  Koottab-sahib  might 
thus  be  collated,  with,  probably,  many  others  as  yet  unknown 
to  me,  and  the  result  might  tell  something  more  than  we  yet 
know  respecting  the  antiquities  of  this  great  and  interesting 
country. 

In  Mr.  Elphinstone's  party  on  this  occasion  was  a  French 
officer,  the  chevalier  Rienzi,  (a  descendant  of  the  celebrated 
tribune,  the  friend  of  Petrarch,)  who  was  just  arrived  from  a 
journey  through  a  considerable  part  of  Egypt  and  Abyssinia. 
I  was  anxious  to  know  what  degree  of  likeness  and  what  com- 
parative merit  he  discovered  between  these  caves  and  those  of 
Thebes,  &c.  He  said  that  the  likeness  between  Kennery  and 
the  Egyptian  caves  was  very  slight  and  general,  and  in  point 
of  beauty  very  greatly  preferred  these  last.  He  had  not, 
however,  seen  Elephanta. 

There  is  a  very  fine  view  from  the  brow  of  the  cliff  above 
Kennery,  of  which  my  wife  made  an  accurate  drawing.  We 
saw  many  monkeys  in  the  woods,  and  some  beautiful  lizards, 
with  a  bright  red  crest  like  that  of  a  cock.  I  also  thought  I 
heard  partridges  calling.  Tygers  are  found  in  these  woods, 
but  seldom  attack  people  where  there  are  many  together,  or 
between  sunrise  and  sunset. 

The  heat  was  very  great  during  this  excursion,  but  we  had 
sufficient  proof  either  that  the  sun,  at  its  greatest  strength,  is 
not  so  dangerous  here  as  in  Bengal,  or  else  that  more  precau- 
tions are  commonly  used  against  it  in  Calcutta  than  is  abso- 
lutely necessary.  On  the  morning  of  the  27th,  not  only  all 
the  men  in  the  party,  but  my  wife  and  Mrs.  Macdonald  rode 
from  our  encampment  to  Tannah,  seven  or  ei^ht  miles,  at  a 
brisk  pace,  and  along  a  dusty  and  unslieltered  road,  without 


150  BUNGALOWS. 

any  inconvenience  that  I  heard  of:  and  at  Bassein  on  the  28th, 
at  the  hottest  part  of  the  day  and  the  year,  we  were  all  of  us 
walking  about  around  the  town  and  amid  the  ruins  for  nearly 
two  hours  without  even  umbrellas.  It  is  possible  that  in  Ben- 
gal people  are  sometimes  needlessly  afraid  of  the  sun.  But 
there  really  should  seem  to  be  something  in  the  refraction  of 
the  soil,  the  abundance  of  moisture,  or  some  similar  cause, 
which  renders  the  heat  in  Bengal,  though  not  more  intense, 
yet,  to  use  an  expression  of  an  old  Indian,  more  venomous 
than  in  most  other  parts  of  India. 

There  are  cave  temples  of  the  same  kind  with  those  of  Ken- 
nery,  but  smaller  and  less  interesting,  at  Mompezier  and 
Ambowlee.  We  passed  these  places  in  our  return,  but.  we 
had,  as  it  unfortunately  happened,  no  time  to  stop,  being 
obliged  to  return  home  for  the  ensuing  Sunday.  Having  seen 
the  best,  we  felt,  indeed,  no  great  anxiety  to  give  ourselves 
any  inconvenient  troubles  about  the  worse.  We  returned  to 
Bombay  by  the  ferry  of  Mahim,  a  large  and  very  populous 
though  meanly  built  town,  overhung  by  a  profusion  of  palm- 
trees. 

The  bungalows  on  the  esplanade  of  Bombay  are  all  tempo- 
rary buildings,  and  removed  as  soon  as  the  rains  begin  to 
fall.*     We  were,  accordingly,  driven  from  ours  on  Satur- 

*  At  the  commencement  of  the  hot  season,  those  Europeans  who 
are  obliged  by  business,  or  other  circumstances,  to  have  their  princi- 
pal residences  within  the  fort,  erect  bungalows  on  the  adjoining  espla- 
nade, which  are,  many  of  them,  remarkably  elegant  buildings,  but 
quite  unfit  to  resist  the  violence  of  the  monsoon.  On  its  approach  their 
inhabitants  return  into  the  fort,  the  bungalows  are  taken  down  and 
preserved  for  another  year,  and  their  place  is,  in  a  very  short  time,  oc- 
cupied by  a  sheet  of  water.  The  esplanade  is  on  the  sea  beach,  with 
the  black  town  at  its  furthest  end,  amidst  a  grove  of  coco-trees.  This 
town  stretches  across  the  whole  end  of  the  island,  and  makes  the  com- 
munication between  the  fort  and  the  interior  unple^asant,  from  the  heat 
and  dust  of  its  narrow  streets.  The  houses  within  the  fort  are  of  a 
singular  construction,  and  quite  unlike  any  in  the  East  of  India,  being 
generally  of  three  or  four  stories  high,  with  wooden  verandahs,  sup- 
ported by  wooden  pillars,  projecting  one  above  another; — these  pillars, 
as  well  as  the  fronts  of  the  verandahs,  are  often  very  beautifidly  carved, 
but  the  streets  are  so  naiTOW  that  it  is  impossible  to  have  a  complete 
view  of  them.  The  prospect  from  some  parts  of  the  fort  is  extremely 
beautiful,  looking  across  the  bay,  over  islands,  many  of  them  covered 
with  wood,  to  tlie  Ghats,  which  form  a  magnificent  back-ground  to  the 
picture.  A  great  number  of  Parsees  live  within  the  walls;  they  are  a 
frugal  and  industrious  race,  who  po'ssess  a  considerable  part  of  the  is- 
land, and  are  partners  in  almost  all  the  commercial  houses,  as  well  as 
great  ship-builders  and  ship-owners.  The  *'Lowjee  Family,"  a  large 
vessel  of  1,000  tons,  in  which  I  came  from  Calcutta,  belongs  to  a  fami- 
ly of  that  name,  whose  head  has  an  excellent  house  near  Pareil.  In 
our  early  and  late  rides  Ihave  been  interested  in  observing  these  men 


GOVERNMENT  RESIDENCIES.  151 

day  the  4th  of  June,  and  most  hospitably  received  as  guests 
by  Mr.  Elphinstone  in  the  government  house  at  Pareil. 

There  are  three  government  residencies  in  the  island  of 
Bombay.  The  one  within  the  walls  of  the  fort,  though  large 
and  convenient,  is  little  used  except  for  holding  councils, 
public  durbars,  and  the  dispatch  of  business.  It  is  a  spa- 
cious dismal-looking  building,  like  many  of  the  other  large 
houses  in  Bombay,  looking  like  a  stadthaus  in  a  German  free 
city.  At  Malabar  point,  about  eight  miles  from  the  town,  is 
a  very  pretty  cottage,  in  a  beautiful  situation  on  a  rocky  and 
woody  promontory,  and  actually  washed  by  the  sea-spray, 
where  Mr.  Elphinstone  chiefly  resides  during  the  hot  wea- 

on  the  shore,  with  their  faces  turned  towards  the  East  or  West,  wor- 
shipping- the  rising  and  setting-  sun,  frequently  standing-  within  the 
surg-e,  their  hands  joined,  and  praying  aloud  with  much  apparent  de- 
votion, though,  to  my  astonishment,  I  was  assured,  in  a  language  unin- 
telligible to  themselves;  others  are  to  be  seen  prostrate  on  the  ground, 
devoutly  rubbing  their  noses  and  foreheads  in  the  sand;  they  worship 
the  four  elements,  but  give  the  pre-eminence  to  fire.  Their  principal 
temple  is  in  the  centre  of  the  black  town,  where  the  everlasting  fire  is 
preserved  by  the  priests.  I  never  observed  their  women  at  prayer, 
but  they  are  hourly  to  be  seen  mixed  with  Hindoos  and  Mussulmans, 
in  crowds  surrounding  the  wells  on  the  esplanade,  (which  Mr.  Elphin- 
stone had  sunk  at  the  commencement  of  the  drought,  but  which  in  this 
severe  scarcity  hardly  supply  tlie  population  with  water,)  and  scram- 
bling for  their  turn  to  fill  the  pitcher  and  the  skin.  In  this  respect 
there  is  a  remarkable  difference  between  the  customs  of  the  Bombay 
women  and  those  of  their  Bengalee  sisterhood,  who  are  seldom  seen 
drawing  water  for  any  purposes.  The  principal  Parsee  burial-ground 
is  on  an  eminence  near  the  coast.  I  met  a  funeral  procession  in  one  of 
my  rides,  just  on  the  point  of  ascending  it,  which  had  a  singular  effect 
among  the  trees  and  jungle;  the, body  was  laid  on  a  bier,  covered  with 
a  white  cloth,  and  carried  by  six  men  clothed  in  long  white  gai'ments, 
and  closely  veiled;  it  was  preceded  and  followed  by  a  number  of  per- 
sons in  the  same  costume,  walking  two  and  two,  each  pair  linked  to- 
gether with  a  white  handkerchief.  They  object  to  any  Europeans  ap- 
proaching their  burial-ground;  indeed,  in  former  times,  Mr.  Elphinstone 
told  me,  a  Giaour  found  within  their  precincts  was  liable  to  be  expel- 
led the  island.  But  a  friend  of  ours,  who  contrived  to  gain  access  to  it, 
gave  me  the  following  description  of  one  of  them.  A  deep  well,  of 
very  large  diameter,  is  sunk  in  the  hill,  the  sides  are  built  round  near 
the  surface,  and  partitioned  into  three  different  receptacles,  for  men, 
women,  and  children;  on  ledges  within  these  partitions  the  bodies  are 
placed,  and  left  exposed  to  the  vultures,  who  are  always  hovering  im 
the  neighbourhood,  while  the  friends  anxiously  wait  at  some  distance 
to  ascertain  which  eye  is  first  torn  out,  inferring  from  thence  whether 
the  souls  are  happy  or  miserable.  When  the  flesh  is  consumed,  the 
bones  are  thrown  down  the  well,  into  which  subterranean  passages 
lead,  for  the  purpose  of  removing  them  when  it  becomes  too  fuU. 
The  Christian  Church-yard,  the  Mussulman  burial-ground,  the  place 
where  the  Hindoos  burn  their  dead,  and  the  Parsee  vault,  are  all  within 
a  short  distance  of  each  other. — Extract  from  Editor's  Journal. 

13* 


153  SUMATRA  APE. 

ther.*  The  third  and  principal  is  Pareil,  about  six  miles 
from  Bombay,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  eastern  shore  of 
the  island.  The  interior  of  the  house  is  very  handsome,  hav- 
ing a  fine  staircase,  and  two  noble  rooms,  one  over  the  other, 
of  75  or  80  feet  long,  very  handsomely  furnished.  The  lower 
of  these,  which  is  the  dining-room,  is  said  to  have  been  an  old 
and  desecrated  church  belonging  to  a  Jesuit  college,  which 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a  Parsee  from  whom  it  was  pur- 
chased by  government  about  sixty  years  ago. 

Behind  the  house  is  a  moderate-sized,  old-fashioned  garden, 
in  which,  (it  may  be  sometime  or  other  interesting  to  recollect,) 
is  planted  a  slip  of  the  willow  which  grows  on  Buonaparte's 
grave.  Adjoining  is  a  small  paddock,  or  rather  yard,  full  of 
different  kinds  of  deer,  who  are  fed,  like  sheep,  by  hand,  and 
another  little  yard  containing  some  wild  animals,  of  which  the 
most  interesting  are  a  noble  wild  ass  from  Cutch,  and  a  very 
singular  ape  from  Sumatra.  The  former  is  about  as  high  as 
a  well-grown  galloway,  a  beautiful  animal,  admirably  formed 
for  fleetness  and  power,  apparently  very  gentle  and  very  fond 
of  horses,  and  by  no  means  disliked  by  them,  in  which  respect 
the  asses  of  India  differ  from  all  others  of  which  I  have  heard  j 
the  same  fact  has  been  told  me  of  the  wild  ass  in  Rajppotana. 
No  attempt  has,  however,  been  made  to  break  him  in  for 
riding,  and  it  is,  doubtless,  now  too  late.  Mr.  Elphinstone 
said  that  he  had  never  heard  of  any  thing  of  the  sort  being 
tried  by  the  natives,  though  they  are  much  in  the  habit  of 
mounting  different  animals,  such  as  stags,  &c. 

The  ape  is  a  very  curious  animal,  answering,  so  far  as  I  can 
recollect,  exactly  to  the  account  given  of  the  ''pigmy,"  or 
small  ouran  outang,  brought  from  Africa  to  Europe  about  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century,  of  whose  habits,  exterior,  and 
dissection  after  death,  a  particular  account  is  given  in  the  old 
French  Compendium  called  "  Le  Spectacle  de  la  Nature." 

*  From  Mr.  Elphlnstone's  house  there  is  a  magnificent  view  of  the 
town  and  harbour;  and  at  the  extremity  of  this  promontory,  in  a  part 
of  the  rock  which  it  is  difficult  to  approach,  are  the  remains  of  a  pa- 
goda, and  a  hole,  famous  as  a  place  of  resort  for  Hindoo  devotees,  who 
believe  that  on  entering  it  they  are  purified  from  all  their  sins,  and 
come  out  regenerate.  The  western  side  of  the  promontory  is  consi- 
dered as  one  of  the  healthiest  situations  in  Bombay,  and  there  are  se- 
veral European  houses  on  the  beach;  there  is  also  a  beautiful  village, 
almost  solely  inhabited  by  Brahmins,  with  a  very  fine  tank  in  its  centre, 
and  some  magnificent  flights  of  steps  leading  to  the  water.  These  peo- 
ple seem  to  enjoy  the  beau  ideal  of  Hindoo  luxury,  occupied  only  in 
the  ceremonies  of  their  religion,  and  passing  the  rest  of  their  lives  in 
silent  contemplation,  as  they  would  themselves  assert,  but,  as  I  should 
rather  express  it,  in  sleeping  and  smoking. — Extract  from  Editor's 
Journal. 


MAHIM.  153 

It  is  a  female,  and  apparently  young,  about  three  feet  high, 
and  very  strong,  stands  erect  with  ease  and  as  if  naturally, 
but  in  walking  or  running  soon  recurs  to  the  use  of  all  four 
hands  or  feet.  It  has  a  very  large  head  and  prominent  belly, 
has  but  little  hair  on  its  body,  and  a  flat  and  broad  face.  Its 
arms  are  longer  than  the  human  proportion,  but,  in  other  re- 
spects, strikingly  like  the  human  arm,  and  as  well  as  the  legs 
furnished  with  calves,  or  whatever  else,  in  the  case  of  arms, 
those  swelling  muscles  may  be  termed.  It  is  of  a  gentle  and 
lazy  disposition,  fond  of  its  keeper  and  quiet  with  every  body 
except  when  teazedj  when  made  to  climb  a  tree,  ascends  no 
higher  than  it  is  urged  to  go,  and  when  turned  loose  in  the 
most  distant  part  of  the  garden  makes  no  use  of  its  liberty 
except  to  run  as  fast  as  its  four  legs  will  carry  it  to  its  cage 
again.  The  natives  make  a  marked  distinction  between  this 
animal  and  their  usual  large  baboon,  calling  it  not  '*  lungoor," 
but  '*  junglee  admee,"  "  wild  man."  They  evidently  regard 
it  as  a  great  curiosity,  and,  I  apprehend,  it  owes  something  of 
its  corpulency  to  their  presents  of  fruit.* 

*  About  half  a  mile  from  the  house,  and  following-,  on  one  side,  the 
course  of  the  sea,  is  a  very  extensive  wood,  principally  of  coco-trees, 
through  which  the  road  runs  for  about  three  miles,  to  the  town  and 
ferry  of  Mahim.  This  wood  is  tliickly  inhabited  by  a  people  of  all  re- 
iigions?  but  the  Portugiiese  Christians,  who  perfectly  resemble  the 
natives  in  dress  and  appearance,  seem  to  be  the  most  numerous;  and 
the  circumstances  of  there  being  here  the  ruins  of  a  College,  as  well 
as  a  church,  with  the  Priest's  house  attached  to  it,  would  prove  it  to 
have  been  the  principal  settlement  on  the  island.  There  are  also  seve- 
ral Hindoo  and  Mussulman  mosques  and  pagodas.  The  wood  is  so 
intersected  by  roads  and  paths,  with  but  few  objects  to  serve  as  land- 
marks, that  a  stranger  would  have  much  difficulty  in  finding  his  way 
out  of  the  labyrinth  of  trees  and  huts. 

The  town  of  Mahim  is  ill-built,  but  it  has  a  fort,  a  Catholic  church, 
and  other  monuments  of  former  prosperity.  The  priests  are,  for  the 
most  part,  educated  at  Goa,  and  Mr.  Elphinstone  says,  are,  occasion- 
ally, well-informed  men.  The  adjoining  ferry  we  crossed  on  our  return 
from  the  excursion  to  Salsette?  a  causeway  is  built  half-way  over  the 
frith,  from  whence  a  raft  conveys  carriages  and  passengers  to  Mahim. 
We  had,  on  that  occasion,  a  curious  specimen  of  the  perfect  apathy 
and  helplessness  of  the  natives,  which  is  worth  notice.  There  were 
five  carriages  to  cross  the  ferry,  each  of  which  required  above  half-an- 
hour  for  transportation.  When  the  tide  is  in,  the  causeway  is  quite 
overflowed;  a  circumstance  of  which  we  were  not  aware  and  allowed 
ourselves  to  be  driven  to  its  extremity,  thereto  wait  while  the  carriages 
that  preceded  us  were  ferried  over.  The  coachman  and  horse-keep- 
ers, (by  which  name  the  saees  is  known  here,)  unharnessed  the  horses, 
took  the  pole  out  of  the  carriage,  and  then  sat  down  with  perfect  un- 
concern to  wait  their  turn  for  embarking.  We  walked  for  some  time 
up  and  down  the  causeway,  till  we  became  aware  that  our  space  was 
much  contracted,  and  that  the  road  behind  us  was,  in  parts,  covered 
with  water.    We  questioned  the  servants,  (natives  of  the  island,}  but. 


154  MONSOON. 

The  monsoon,  which  began  with  violence,  was  interrupted 
by  above  a  fortnight's  dry  weather,  to  the  great  alarm  of  the 
natives,  who  having  had  two  years  of  drought,  now  began  to 
fear  a  third,  and  a  consequent  famine  with  all  its  full  extent 
of  horrors.  Several  inauspicious  prophecies,  (most  popular 
prophecies  are  of  evil,)  were  propagated,  with  the  pretended 
facts  "  that  two  years  drought  had  never  occurred  in  India 
except  they  were  followed  by  a  thirds"  that ''  the  same  winds 
were  said  by  the  Arab  traders  to  prevail  in  the  Red  Sea  this 
year  as  had  prevailed  the  two  last,  and  as  always  prevailed 
there  when  the  monsoon  failed  in  this  country."  At  length 
the  clouds  again  thickened,  and  the  rain  came  on  with  heavy 
gales  and  in  abundant  quantities,  so  that  the  intermission 
which  had  occurred  was  reckoned  highly  advantageous,  in 
having  given  more  time  to  the  peasants  to  get  their  rice  sown 
and  transplanted.  The  rain  I  thought  heavier  and  more  con- 
tinuous than  anything  which  I  had  seen  in  Calcutta,  but  unac- 
companied by  the  violent  north-westers,  and  terrific  thunder 
and  lightning  which  prevail  at  this  season  in  Bengal.  Here, 
as  there,  a  great  change  for  the  better  takes  place  in  the  tem- 
perature of  the  air^  and  heavy  as  the  rains  are,  few  days  occur 
in  which  one  may  not  enjoy  a  ride  either  early  in  the  morning, 
or  in  the  afternoon.  The  frogs  are  as  large,  as  numerous,  and 
as  noisy  here  as  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Calcutta. 

Though  I  had  heard  much  of  the  extreme  humidity  of  the 
climate  of  Bombay,  I  do  not  think  that  my  experience  justified 
this  character;  or  that  our  papers,  books,  or  steel,  either 
moulded  or  rusted  so  fast  as  in  Bengal.  The  soil  is,  indeed, 
rocky  and  shallow;  and  though  the  rice-grounds  here,  as  else- 
where, are  mere  washes  during  the  whole  seed  time,  I  do  not 
think  the  water  either  spreads  so  widely,  or  lies  so  long  as  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Ganges. 

June  9,7. — I  set  out  to-day,  accompanied  by  Archdeacon 

they  were  as  ig-norantas  ourselves  of  the  height  to  which  the  tide  usu- 
ally rose,  and  seemed  quite  indifferent  on  the  subject.  We  now  began 
to  think  our  situation  rather  precarious,  and  determined  on  returning- 
while  it  was  in  our  power,  instead  of  waiting  for  the  raft.  But  this  was 
not  the  work  of  a  moment,  as  the  width  of  the  causeway  only  allowed 
of  the  carriage  being  turned  by  men,  and  by  the  time  it  was  accom- 
plished, and  the  horses  harnessed,  the  water  had  risen  as  high  as  the 
doors.  The  scene  was  beautiful  and  wild;  it  was  night,  the  glorious 
moon  and  stars  shining  over-head,  and  reflected  with  brilliancy  in  the 
still  waters,  in  the  middle  of  which  we  appeared  to  stand,  without  any 
visible  means  of  escape.  A  canoe,  just  large  enough  to  hold  us,  at 
this  moment  came  up,  and  we  were  rowed  with  extraordinary  swiftness 
to  shore,  leaving  the  carriage  to  follow,  which  it  did  in  perfect  safety. 
If  the  night  had  been  stormy  our  situation  might  have  been  one  of  dan- 
ger.— Extract  from  Editor's  Journal, 


JOURNEY  TO  THE  DECKAN.  155 

Barnes,  on  a  journey  into  the  Deckan.  Having  sent  off  our 
horses  and  servants  the  preceding  morning,  we  embarked  in  a 
small  boat  with  lateen  sails,  and  stood  across  the  arm  of  the 
sea  which  divides  Bombay  from  the  continent.  We  went  N.  E. 
with  a  fine  breeze,  a  distance  of  20  or  22  miles,  passing  But- 
cher's Island  and  Elephanta  to  our  left,  and  in  about  four 
hours  arrived  in  a  small  river  on  which  stands  the  town  of 
Panwellee.  Its  bed  is  much  choked  with  rocks;  and,  bein^ 
a  little  too  early  for  the  tide,  we  were  delayed  and  found 
some  difficulty  in  our  progress,  and  were  at  length  obliged  to 
go  on  shore  in  a  small  canoe,  the  narrowest  which  I  had  yet 
seen,  and  cut  out  of  a  single  tree.  This  landed  us  on  a  pretty 
good  stone  pier,  beyond  which  we  found  a  small-sized  coun- 
try town,  with  a  pagoda,  a  handsome  tomb  of  a  Mussulman 
saint,  and  a  pretty  quiet  view  of  surrounding  hills  and  woods. 
We  found  a  comfortable  bungalow,  built  and  kept  up  by  go- 
vernment, for  the  accommodation  of  travellers,  and  two 
taverns,  one  kept  by  a  Portuguese,  the  other  by  a  Parsee,  the 
latter  of  whom,  at  a  very  short  notice,  procured  us  a  dinner, 
at  least  as  well  got  up,  as  cleanly  and  as  good,  as  could  have 
been  expected  at  a  country  inn  in  England. 

After  dinner  we  set  out  in  palanqueens,  in  heavy  rain, 
which  lasted  all  night,  and  went  twelve  miles  to  Chowkee, 
where  we  found  another  government  bungalow,  and  another 
decent  Parsee  tavern,  at  the  latter  of  which  we  remained 
some  hours,  while  our  bearers  rested,  so  as  to  enable  them  to 
carry  us  on  the  next  stage.  No  such  thing  as  a  regular  Dak 
establishment,  (such  as  in  Bengal  enables  travellers  to  find  at 
a  short  notice,  and  a  moderate  expense  bearers  ready  placed 
in  all  the  villages  where  there  are  post-offices,)  exists  in  this 
part  of  India.  Bearers  are  only  procured  in  large  towns;  and 
in  order  to  obtain  their  services  at  intervening  stations,  they 
must  be  brought  from  these  towns  at  considerable  expense, 
and  often  from  a  considerable  distance.  In  consequence  it 
becomes  a  necessary  part  of  economy  to  engage  one  set  of 
bearers  to  go  as  far  as  they  can,  and  enable  them  to  do  so  by 
halts  of  this  kind,  which  the  institution  of  bungalows  renders 
much  less  inconvenient  than  it  would  be  in  the  north.  The 
Parsee  tavern-keeper  of  Chowkee  furnished  us  with  tea,  and 
sofas,  which  serve  very  well  as  beds  on  occasion. 

At  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  we  again  set  off,  and,  after 
some  delay  and  difficulty  in  fording  rivers,  arrived  about  six 
at  a  very  pretty  village  named  Capoolee,  with  a  fine  tank,  and 
temple  of  Maha-Deo,  built  by  the  celebrated  Maharatta  minis- 
ter Nana  Furnaveez.  The  road  all  the  way  was  excellent, 
made  at  a  great  expense,  more  than  sufficiently  wide,  and  well 
raised  above  the  low  swampy  level  of  the  Concan.     The  jour- 


156  ASCENT  OP  THE  GHATS. 

ney  was  to  me,  however  sufficiently  unpleasant.  I  cannot 
sleep  in  a  palanqueen,  the  rain  beat  in  through  the  front  blinds, 
which  could  never  be  perfectly  closed,  and  through  the  side- 
doors,  which  I  was  obliged  to  open  occasionally  for  want  of 
air;  and  the  wearisome  darkness  of  the  night,  and  the  dismal 
grunting  of  my  bearers,  who  as  a  matter  of  custom,  rather 
than  from  any  inability  to  bear  their  burthen,  trot  on  with 
much  the  same  sort  of  noise,  but  deeper  and  more  plaintive, 
which  the  paviors  make  in  England — made  me  renew  an  old 
resolution,  to  have,  in  future,  as  little  to  do  with  palanqueens 
as  possible,  at  least  in  the  night  time. 

From  Capoolee,  though  it  was  still  raining,  I  walked  up 
the  Bhor  Ghat  four  miles  and  half,  to  Candaulah,  the  road 
still  broad  and  good,  but  the  ascent  very  steep,  so  much  so, 
indeed  that  a  loaded  carriage,  or  even  a  palanqueen  with  any 
body  in  it,  could  with  difficulty  be  forced  along  it.  In  fact, 
everyone  either  walks  or  rides  up  the  hills,  and  all  merchan- 
dise is  conveyed  on  bullocks  or  horses.  The  ascent  might,  I 
think  have  been  rendered  by  an  able  engineer,  much  more 
easy.  But  to  have  carried  a  road  over  these  hills  at  all,  con- 
sidering how  short  a  time  they  have  been  in  our  power,  i» 
highly  creditable  to  the  Bombay  government;  and  the  road,  as 
it  now  stands,  and  with  all  its  inconveniencies,  is  probably 
sufficient  for  the  intercourse  which  either  is,  or  is  likely  to 
be,  between  the  Concan  and  the  Deckan. 

The  views  offered  from  different  parts  of  this  ascent  are  very 
beautiful,  and  much  reminded  me  of  some  parts  of  the  Yale  of 
Corwen.  The  mountains  are  nearly  the  same  height,  (from  2000 
to  3000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,)  with  the  average  of 
Welsh  mountains;  and  the  freshness  and  verdure  which  clothes 
them  during  the  rains,  as  well  as  the  fleecy  clouds  continually 
sweeping  over  them,  increased  their  likeness  to  the  green  dells 
and  moist  climate  of  Gwyneth.  In  one  respect,  and  only  one, 
the  Ghats  have  the  advantage, — their  precipices  are  higher,  and 
the  outline  of  the  hills  consequently  bolder.  That  outline  in- 
deed, is  remarkable,  consisting,  in  by  far  the  majority  of  in- 
stances, of  a  plane  table  summit,  or  else  a  long  horizontal  ridge, 
supported  by  sides  as  steep  and  regular  as  if  artificial  1 3"^  scraped, 
with  natural  terraces  at  uncertain  heights,  each  with  its  own 
precipice,  affording  a  striking  specimen  of  what  is  called  the 
trap  formation.  There  is  a  good  deal  of  forest  timber  on  the 
sides  of  these  hills,  and  the  gorges  of  the  valleys  are  thickly 
wooded.  The  trees,  however,  are  not,  singly  taken,  of  any 
great  size,  either  here  or  in  the  Deckan,  or  in  Bombay,  a  cir- 
cumstance in  which  these  countries  seem  remarkably  contrast- 
ed with  Guzerat,  and  the  greater  part  of  northern  India. 

Near  Candaulah  is  a  waterfall,  which  flows  all  the  year,  and 


WATERFALL  AT  CANDAULAH.  157 

at  this  season  is  very  full  and  beautiful.  It  falls  in  three  or  four 
successive  descents  down  one  of  the  highest  precipices  I  ever 
saw,  not  less,  I  should  apprehend,  than  1200  feet,  into  a  valley 
of  very  awful  depth  and  gloom,  down  which  its  stream  winds 
to  join  the  sea,  nearly  opposite  to  Tannah,  under  the  name  of 
the  Callianee  river.  On  a  knoll  above  this  waterfall,  and  close 
to  the  great  precipice,  Mr.  Elphinstone  has  a  small  house, 
where  he  passes  a  part  of  each  cold  season.  I  saw  it  only  from 
a  distance,  but  should  suppose  it  to  be  a  delightful  residence. 

Candaulah  is  a  poor  village,  but  with  a  tolerable  bazar,  and, 
besides  the  government  bungalow  for  travellers,  which  is  mean 
and  ill-contrived,  has  a  tavern  kept  by  a  Portuguese,  consisting 
of  one  waste  room,  like  a  barn,  with  an  inscription  in  broken 
English  over  the  door,  announcing  that  "at  the  Hotel  of  the 
Santa  Anunciation,  all  nexeary  victuals  may  he pr quired.''^ 

In  ascending  the  Ghats  to  Candaulah,  I  was  met  by  six  armed 
horsemen,  part  of  an  escort  obligingly  sent  me  by  Mr.  Chapliii, 
the  commissioner  in  the  Deckan.  This  is  now  more  a  mark  of 
respect,  and  calculated  to  conciliate  the  respect  of  the  natives, 
than  a  measure  of  any  real  necessity  on  this  road .  The  popu- 
lation, however,  of  these  mountains  used,  at  no  long  time  ago, 
to  be  frequently  troublesome  and  dangerous  to  passengers,  and 
still,  sometimes  indulge  in  their  old  habits  towards  native  tra- 
vellers, though  with  Europeans  they  seldom  if  ever  venture  to 
meddle.  They  are  of  the  same  caste  and  family  of  people  with 
the  Coolies  of  Guzerat,  and  call  themselves  by  that  name. 
They  are,  however,  less  tall  and  robust  than  those  hardy  bar- 
barians, and  seem  a  link  between  them  and  the  Bheels.  The 
Bheels  themselves  are  not  found  farther  south  than  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Damaun;  and  on  the  hills  which  overhang  the 
southern  Concan,  a  tribe  of  nearly  similar  habits  but  different 
language,  the  Canars,  takes  the  place  of  the  Coolies.  The 
plain  country,  both  of  the  Concans  and  the  more  elevated  level 
of  the  Deckan,  is  inhabited  by  Maharattas,  a  peaceable  and  in- 
dustrious race,  among  whom  there  should  seem  to  be  fewer  re- 
markable crimes  against  society  than,  with  a  similar  popula- 
tion, is  found  in  most  parts  of  India.  The  horsemen  who  were 
sent  to  me  were  natives  of  Hindostan,  in  the  service  of  the  po- 
lice. They  had  been  originally  in  Colonel  Skinner's  corps, 
wore  its  uniform,  and  appeared  much  delighted  to  find  that  I 
knew  all  about  their  old  commander,  and  had  been,  myself,  at 
Delhi. 

The  cottages  both  in  the  Concan  and  in  the  Deckan  are  small 
and  mean,  with  steep  thatched  roofs,  and  very  low  side  walls  of 
loose  stones,  and  there  is  a  general  appearance  of  poverty  both 
in  the  dress  and  farming-implements  of  the  people.  Their  cattle 
however,  are  of  a  larger  and  better  breed  than  those  of  Bengal; 


158  CAVERN  AT  CARLEE- 

and  notwithstanding  the  long  drought,  -sv  ere,  when  I  saw  them; 
in  better  case  than  I  could  have  expected. 

In  the  afternoon  of  this  day,  (the  28th, )  I  rode  on  horseback, 
accompanied  hj  Dr.  Barnes,  the  stage  between  Candaulah  and 
Carlee,  divei;ging  from  the  road  about  a  mile  to  visit  the  cele- 
brated cavern  which  takes  its  name  from  this  last  place,  and 
which  is  hewn  on  the  face  of  a  precipice  about  two-thirds  up 
the  side  of  a  steep  hill,  rising  with  a  very  scraped  and  regular 
talus,  to  the  height  of,  probably,  800  feet  above  the  plain.  The 
excavations  consist,  besides  the  principal  temple,  of  many 
smaller  apartments  and  galleries,  in  two  stories,  some  of  them 
ornamented  with  great  beauty,  and  evidently  intended,  like 
those  at  Kennery,  for  the  lodging  of  monks  or  hermits.  The 
temple  itself  is  on  the  same  general  plan  as  that  of  Kennery, 
but  half  as  large  again,  and  far  finer  and  richer.  It  is  ap- 
proached by  a  steep  and  narrow  path,  winding  up  the  side  of 
the  hill,  among  trees  and  brushwood,  and  fragments  of  rock. 
This  brought  us  to  a  mean  and  ruinous  temple  of  Siva,  which 
serves  as  a  sort  of  gateway  to  the  cave;  a  similar  small  build- 
ing stands  on  the  right  hand  of  its  portico,  and  we  were  im- 
mediately surrounded  by  some  naked  and  idle  brahmin  boys, 
who,  with  an  old  woman  of  the  same  caste,  called  themselves 
the  keepers  of  the  sanctuary,  and  offered  their  services  to  show 
its  wonders,  and  tell  its  history.  I  asked  them  who  was  its 
founder,  and  they  answered,  "  King  Pandoo,"  who  is,  indeed, 
as  Mr.  Elphinstone  afterwards  told  me,  the  reputed  architect 
of  all  these  cave  temples,  and  in  general,  like  our  Arthur,  of 
all  ancient  monuments  whose  real  history  is  unknown.  King 
Pandoo  and  his  four  brethren  are  the  principal  heroes  of  the 
celebrated  Hindoo  romance  of  the  Mahabharat,  and  the  apparent 
identity  of  his  name  with  that  of  the  "  Pandion"  of  whose  ter- 
ritories in  India  the  Greeks  heard  so  much,  is  too  remarkable 
to  be  passed  unnoticed. 

The  approach  to  the  temple  is,  like  that  at  Kennery,  under 
a  noble  arch,  filled  up  with  a  sort  of  portico  screen,  in  two 
stories  of  three  intercolumniations  below,  and  five  above.  In 
tho- front,  but  a  little  to  the  left,  is  the  same  kind  of  pillar  as 
is  seen  at  Kennery,  though  of  larger  dimensions,  surmounted 
by  three  lions  back  to  back.  Within  the  portico,  to  the  right 
and  left,  are  three  colossal  figures,  in  alto  relievo,  of  ele- 
phants, their  faces  looking  towards  the  person  who  arrives  in 
the  portico,  and  their  heads,  tusks,  and  trunks,  very  boldly 
projecting  from  the  wall.  On  each  of  them  is  a  mohoutvery 
well  carved,  and  a  howdah  with  tw^o  persons  seated  in  it. 
The  internal  screen,  on  each  side  of  the  door,  is  covered,  as 
at  Kennery,  with  alto  relievos,  very  bold  and  somewliat 
larger  than  life,  of  naked  male  and  female  figures.     I  asked 


CARLEE.  159 

our  young  guides  what  deities  these  represented,  and  was 
surprised  to  hear  from  them  in  answer,  "  These  are  not  Gods, 
one  God  is  sufficient;  these  are  viragees,"  (^religious  enthu- 
siasts or  attendants  on  tiie  Deity.)  On  asking,  however,  if 
their  God  was  the  same  whom  they  worshipped  in  the  little 
temple  before  the  steps,  and  if  he  w^ere  Maha-Deo,  they  an- 
swered in  the  affirmative,  so  that  their  Deism  merely  extend- 
ed to  paying  worship  to  a  single  idol  only.  There  is,  cer- 
tainly, however,  no  image  either  of  Buddha  or  any  other 
mythological  personage  about  this  cavern,  nor  any  visible 
object  of  devotion,  except  the  mystic  chattah,  or  umbrella, 
already  mentioned  at  Kennery. 

The  details  of  the  cave  within  having  been  already  more 
than  once  published,  and  as,  in  its  general  arrangement,  it 
closely  answers  to  Kennery,  I  will  only  observe,  that  both  in 
dimensions  and  execution  it  is  much  nobler  and  more  elabo- 
ratej  and  that  the  capitals  of  the  columns,  (all  of  them  at 
least  which  are  not  hidden  by  the  chattah  at  the  East  end,) 
are  very  singular  and  beautiful.  Each  consists  of  a  large 
cap,  like  a  bell,  finely  carved,  and  surmounted  by  two  ele- 
phants with  their  trunks  entwined,  and  each  carrying  two 
male  and  one  female  figure,  which  our  guides  again  told  us 
were  viragees. 

The  timber  ribs  which  decorate  the  roof,  whatever  their 
use  may  have  been,  are  very  perfect,  and  have  a  good  effect 
in  the  perspective  of  the  interior,  which  is  all  extremely  clean 
and  in  good  repair,  and  would  be,  in  fact,  a  very  noble  tem- 
ple for  any  religion.  On  one  side  an  old  and  faded  dhoolie, 
with  tattered  and  dirty  curtains,  fringes,  and  other  marks  of 
ancient  splendour,  was  suspended.  Our  guides  said  it  was 
the  god's  palanqueen,  and  was  carried  out  on  solemn  occa- 
sions. I  saw  nothing  in  it  now,  and  there  was  no  image 
which  could  be  put  into  it,  so  that  I  suppose  it  performs  its 
procession  empty.  On  asking  where  their  "  Deo"  was,  they 
pointed  to  some  red  paint  on  the  front  of  the  chattah. 

On  returning  to  our  horses,  we  found  the  brahmin  of  the 
next  village,  who  called  himself  a  pundit,  and  said  he  had 
come  on  purpose  to  explain  to  me  all  the  antiquities  and  mys- 
teries of  the  "  Dewal,"  or  temple,  but  the  evening  was  shut- 
ting in  too  fast  to  admit  of  our  scrambling  half  a  mile  up  a 
steep  cliff,  to  examine  the  cave  over  again;  and,  therefore, 
declining  his  civility,  we  rode  across  the  plain  to  the  village 
of  Carlee,  where  our  palanqueens  were  awaiting  us.  This 
plain  is  an  unpromising  mixture  of  rock  and  marsh,  and 
even  less  cultivated  than  its  unfavourable  soil  might  lead  one 
to  expect,  considering  it  must  always  have  been  well  off  for 
water.     Like  all  the  Deckan  which  I  have  seen  it  is  very 

Vol.  II.— 14 


160  POONAH. 

bare  of  trees,  and  reminded  me  a  good  deal  of  some  parts  of 
Rajpootana,  particularly  the  neighbourhood  of  Nusseerabad. 
The  road  just  finished  by  government  is  excellent  and  there 
is  a  bridge  of,  I  think,  thirteen  arches,  over  some  swampy 
ground  near  this  place,  of  extremely  solid  and  judicious, 
though  simple  architecture. 

I  had  another  comfortless  night's  journey  in  my  palanqueen, 
suftering  a  good  deal  from  sleeplessness,  and  alternate  tits  of 
shivering  and  heat.  We  reached  Mr.  Chaplin's  bungalow  in 
Poonah  cantonment,  about  four  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
29th,  and  I  hoped  that  some  hour's  repose  in  an  excellent 
bed,  would  set  me  up  again.  I  was  mistaken,  however,  for 
in  the  following  night  I  was  attacked  by  dysentery,  of  which 
all  these  had,  I  suppose  been  the  previous  symptoms,  and 
which  kept  me  pretty  closely  confined  during  great  part  of 
my  stay  in  Poonah.  I  was  happy  in  being  sufficiently  reco- 
vered on  Saturday,  to  administer  confirmation  to  about  forty 
persons,  chiefly  officers  and  privates  of  His  Majesty's  20th 
regiment,  and  on  Sunday  to  consecrate  the  Church,  and 
preach  a  sermon  to  a  numerous  congregation.  Mr.  Chaplin, 
also,  drove  me  one  day  round  the  cantonment,  and  on  Mon- 
day I  went  on  horseback  to  see  the  city  and  the  Peishwah's 
palace. 

The  city  of  Poonah  stands  in  the  centre  of  a  very  exten- 
sive plain  elevated  somewhere  about  2000  feet  above  tlie  sea, 
and  surrounded  by  hills,  of  the  trap  formation,  and  with  the 
singularly  scarped  forms  peculiar  to  that  style  of  mountain, 
from  1500  to  2000  feet  higher  still.     Many  of  these  used, 
under  the  Maharatta  government,  to  be  crowned  by  hill-forts, 
for  which  their  form  remarkably  qualifies  them,  but  by  far  the 
greater  part  of  which  have  been  destroyed  and  abandoned  as 
useless,  or  worse  than  useless,  in  a  campaign  on  the  Euro- 
pean system.     It  requires,  indeed,  no  trifling  victory  of  rea- 
son and  courage  over  imagination,  to  anticipate  the  easy  cap- 
ture of  a  line  of  towers  and  lofty  walls,  well  furnished  with 
cannon,  and  crowning  the  summits  of  hills  high  and  steep  by 
nature  and  art.     But  a  little  experience  shows  that  fastnesses 
of  this  kind,  the  more  inaccessible  they  are  from  the  plain, 
are,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  the  less  valuable,  as  de- 
pots, as  commanding  great  roads,  or  as  facilitating  the  pro- 
gress or  manoeuvres  of  a  defensive  army.     Even  separately 
taken,  and  as  places  of  refuge,  it  may  be  soon  discovered  that 
the  most  steep  and  rugged  mountains,  in  the  ravines  with 
which  they  abound,  aiford  frequently  very  advantageous  and 
secure  avenues,  by  which  an  attacking  force  may  approacli 
their  walls  completely  covered  from  their  artillery,  while  the 
effects  of  bombardment  on  a  rocky  soil  are  very  serious  and 


POONAH.  161 

terrible  to  a  native  army.  Accordingly,  these  sky-threaten- 
ing fortresses  were  found, .in  the  late  war,  to  fall  successively, 
and  in  far  less  time  than  could  be  expected,  before  the  Bri- 
tish and  Sepoy  armies,  while,  even  with  all  the  imperfections 
of  military  architecture  in  India,  (defects  which  are,  of  course, 
more  conspicuous  in  a  site  where  all  is  artificial,)  the  cities 
of  Belgaum  and  Bhurtpoor,  seated  on  plains,  but  enclosing 
large  areas,  and  partly  defended  by  tanks,  are  those  which 
have  opposed  the  most  formidable  obstacles  to  our  arms  in 
this  country.  Still,  there  are  some  hill -forts  which  are  so 
excellent  in  their  kind,  that  no  government  can  act  wisely  in 
slighting  them,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  British  will  not 
forget,  in  the  case  of  Taraghur,  KuUinghur,  Asseerghur,  and 
a  few  others,  how  valuable,  in  the  event  of  their  arms  sus- 
taining a  reverse,  these  noble  rocks  may  become  to  a  retreat- 
ing force,  and  how  great  their  strength  is  likely  to  be  when  in 
the  hands  of  European  officers. 

The  plain  of  Poonah  is  very  bare  of  trees,  and  though  there 
are  some  gardens  immediately  around  the  city,  yet  as  both 
these  and  the  city  itself  lie  in  a  small  hollow  on  the  banks  ot 
the  river  Moola,  they  are  not  sufficiently  conspicuous  to  in- 
terrupt the  general  character  of  nakedness  in  the  picture,  any 
more  than  the  few  young  trees  and  ornamental  shrubs  with 
which  the  bungalows  of  the  cantonment  are  intermingled. 
The  principal  and  most  pleasing  feature,  is  a  small  insulated 
hill  immediately  over  the  town,  with  a  temple  of  the  goddess 
Parvati  on  its  summit,  and  a  large  tank  which,  when  I  saw  it, 
was  nearly  dry,  at  its  base. 

All  the  grass-land  round  this  tank,  and  generally  through 
the  Deckan,  swarms  with  a  small  land-crab,  which  burrows  in 
the  ground,  and  runs  with  considerable  swiftness,  even  v/hen 
encumbered  with  a  bundle  of  food  almost  as  big  as  itself.  This 
food  is  grass,  or  the  green  stalks  of  rice,  and  it  is  amusing  to 
see  them,  sitting  as  it  were  upright,  to  cut  their  hay  v/ith 
their  sharp  pincers,  then  waddling  oft' with  the  sheaf  to  their 
holes  as  quickly  as  their  sidelong  pace  will  carry  them. 

The  city  of  Poonah  is  far  from  handsome,  and  of  no  great 
apparent  size,  though  to  my  surprise,  I  was  assured  that  it 
still  contains  100,000  people.  It  is  without  walls  or  fort,  very 
irregularly  built  and  paved,  with  mean  bazars,  deep  ruinous 
streets,  interspersed  with  peepul-trees,  &c.  many  small,  but 
no  large  or  striking  pagodas,  and  as  few  traces  as  can  well  be 
conceived  of  its  having  been  so  lately  the  residence  of  a  power- 
ful sovereign.  The  palace  is  large,  and  contains  a  handsome 
quadrangle  surrounded  by  cloisters  of  carved  wooden  pillars, 
but  is,  externally,  of  mean  appearance,  and  the  same  observa- 
tion will  apply  to  other  smaller  residencies  of  the  Peishwa, 


162  CANTONMENT  OF  POONAH. 

which,  whimsically  enough,  are  distinguished  by  the  names 
of  the  days  of  the  week — "Monday's  Palace,  Tuesday's  Pa- 
lace," &c.  The  principal  building  is  used  at  present,  on  its 
ground-floor,  as  the  prison  for  the  town  and  district;  on  the 
floor  immediately  above  is  a  dispensary,  and  a  large  audience 
chamber,  resembling  that  at  Baroda,  which  is  fitted  up  with 
beds  as  an  infirmary  for  the  natives,  while  higher  still,  a  long 
gallery  is  used  as  an  insane  hospital.  Both  these  places, 
though,  when  I  saw  them,  rather  crowded,  were  clean  and 
well  kept,  and  in  the  latter  particularly,  the  unfortunate  pa- 
tients were  so  clean,  quiet,  well-fed,  and  comfortably  clothed, 
as  to  do  very  great  credit  to  Dr.  Ducat,  the  station  surgeon, 
particularly  as  my  visit  was  not  prepared  for  or  expected. 
The  madness  of  most  of  the  patients  seemed  of  a  quiet  and 
idiotic  character.  One  man  only  was  pointed  out  to  me  as 
sometimes  violent,  and  dangerous  from  his  great  strength. 
He  was  a  sepoy,  a  very  powerful  and  handsome  man,  who  at 
this  time,  however,  was  walking  up  and  down  without  chains, 
very  civil,  and  apparently  composed  and  tranquil.  Another, 
with  a  countenance  strongly  denoting  despondency,  seemed 
to  have  contracted  a  friendship  with  a  spaniel  belonging  to  one 
of  the  attendants,  which  sate  on  his  bed,  and  round  which  he 
kept  his  arms  folded.  Dr.  Ducat  asked  me  afterwards,  if  I 
had  noticed  the  very  peculiar  conformation  of  these  patients' 
skulls.  I  did  not  observe  it,  and  therefore  can  only  say  from 
his  word,  that  there  was  any  singularity. 

The  cantonment  of  Poonah  is  on  an  elevated  situation,  a 
little  to  the  westward  of  the  city,  and  in  its  geneml  appear- 
ance and  locality  reminded  me  of  that  of  Nusseerabad.  Here, 
as  there,  the  horses  are  picketted  in  the  open  air  all  the  year 
round,  an  arrangement  which  is  said  to  answer  extre-jnely  well 
not  only  for  cheapness  and  convenience,  but  for  the  health 
and  serviceable  state  of  the  animals.  The  streets  are  wide, 
and  the  whole  encampment,  I  thought,  well  arranged  and 
handsome;  there  is  a  good  station-library  for  the  soldiers,  an- 
other, supported  by  subscription,  for  the  officers,  and  the  regi- 
mental schools  I  was  told  by  Archdeacon  Barnes,  (for  I  was 
too  unwell  to  keep  the  appointment  which  I  had  made  to  visit 
them,)  are  in  excellent  order.  The  Church  is  spacious  and 
convenient,  but  in  bad  architectural  taste,  and  made  still  uglier 
externally,  by  being  covered  with  dingy  blue  wash  picked  out 
with  white.  Mr.  Robinson,  the  Chaplain,  appears  to  draw 
very  numerous  and  attentive  congregations  both  in  the  morn- 
ings and  evenings;  the  latter  particularly,  which  is  a  volun- 
tary attendance,  showed  as  many  soldiers  nearly  as  the 
morning's  parade,  and  there  appeared  good  reason  to  think, 
not  only  that  the  talents  and  zeal  of  their  able  and  amiable 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  DECKAN.  163 

Minister  produced  the  effect  to  be  anticipated,  but  that  he  was 
well  supported  by  the  example  and  influence  of  Sir  Charles 
Colville  and  others  in  authority.  I  was  so  fortunate  as  to 
prevail  on  Sir  Charles  Colville  to  rescind  his  order,  restrict- 
ing the  soldiers  from  carrying  the  books  of  the  station-library 
with  them  to  their  quarters,  and  trust  that  an  essential  good 
may  thus  be  produced  both  to  this  and  all  the  other  canton- 
ments of  the  Bombay  army.  And  on  the  whole,  though  the 
state  of  my  health  prevented  my  either  seeing  or  doing  so 
much  at  Poonah  as  I  had  hoped  to  do,  and,  under  other  cir- 
cumstances, might  have  done,  1  trust  that  the  journey  was 
not  altogether  useless  to  myself  and  others. 

During  the  hours  that  illness  confined  me  to  my  room,  1 
had  the  advantage  of  reading  the  reports  on  the  state  of  the 
Deckan  by  Mr.  Elphinstone  and  Mr.  Chaplin,  with  a  conside- 
rable volume  of  MS.  documents,  and  was  thus  enabled,  better 
than  I  otherwise  should  have  been,  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
this  new  and  important  conquest.  The  country  conquered 
from  the  Maharattas,  with  the  exception  of  the  principality  of 
Saltara  and  some  other  smaller  territories  which  still  remain 
under  their  native  sovereigns,  is  divided  into  several  large  dis- 
tricts, each  under  the  management  of  a  single  officer,  generally 
a  military  man,  with  the  title  of  Collector,  but  exercising  also 
the  functions  of  Judge  of  Circuit  and  Magistrate,  while  over 
all  these  is  the  chief  Commissioner,  resident  at  Poonah,  and 
having  a  Collector  under  him  for  that  province,  so  as  to  be  at 
liberty  to  attend  to  all  the  ditt'erent  districts,  and  bound  to 
make  an  annual  circuit  through  the  greater  part  of  them. 

This  simplicity  of  administration  seems  well  suited  to  the 
circumstances  or  the  country  and  the  people,  and  two  other 
very  great  though  incidental  good  effects  arise  from  it,  inas- 
much as  1st,  there  is  a  greater  number  of  subordinate  but  re- 
spectable and  profitable  situations  open  to  the  natives,  than 
can  be  the  case  under  the  system  followed  in  Bengal;  and  se- 
condly, the  abuses  which  seem  inseparable  from  the  regular 
Adawlut  courts  of  justice  have  not  been  introduced  here,  but 
offences  are  tried  and  questions  of  property  decided,  in  the 
first  instance,  by  native  punchaets  or  juries  assembled  in  the 
villages,  and  under  the  authority  of  the  Potail  or  hereditary  vil- 
lage chief,  or  in  graver  and  more  difficult  cases,  by  native 
Pundits  stationed  with  handsome  salaries  at  Poonah  and  other 
great  towns,  whose  decisions  may  be  confirmed  or  revised  by 
,  the  chief  commissioner.  The  advantages  of  this  institution 
seem  greatj  it  is  true,  indeed,  that  many  complaints  are  made 
of  the  listlessness,  negligence  and  delays  of  the  native  jurors 
or  arbitrators,  (for  the  punchaet  system  resembles  the  latter 
of  these  characters  rather  than  the  former,)  but  still  the  delay 

14* 


164  THE    DECKAN. 

is  apparently,  less  than  occurs  under  the  Adawliit  in  our  old 
provinces,  while  the  reputation  of  the  court,  so  far  as  integrity 
goes,  is  far  better  than  that  of  the  other.  Eventually,  too, 
these  institutions  thus  preserved  and  strengthened  may  be  of 
the  greatest  possible  advantage  to  the  country  by  increasing 
public  spirit,  creating  public  opinion,  and  paving  the  way  to 
the  obtainment  and  profitable  use  of  further  political  privi- 
leges. 

The  whole  of  the  Deckan  had,  for  some  years  back,  suffered 
greatly  by  drought  and  a  consequent  scarcity,  which,  in  the 
eastern  districts,  amounted  at  this  time  to  absolute  famine, 
"with  its  dreadful  attendant  evils  of  pestilence  and  the  weaken- 
ing of  all  moral  ties.  These  calamities  were  not  so  much  felt  in 
the  neighbourhood  and  to  the  west  of  Poonahj  and,  everywhere, 
making  due  allowance  for  them,  the  country  seemed  to  thrive 
under  its  present  system  of  government.  The  burdens  of  the 
peasantry  are  said  to  be  decidedly  less  in  amount,  and  collect- 
ed in  a  less  oppressive  manner,  than  under  the  old  monarchy. 
The  English  name  is,  therefore,  popular  with  all  but  those  who 
are  inevitably  great  losers  by  our  coming,— the  courtiers  of  the 
Peishwa,  such  of  the  trades  as  lived  by  the  splendour  of  his 
court,  and,  probably,  though  this  docs  not  appear,  of  the 
Brahmins.  The  great  body  of  the  Maharatta  people  are  a  very 
peaceable  and  simple  peasantry,  of  frugal  habits,  and  gentle 
dispositions;  there  seems  to  be  no  district  in  India,  of  equal 
extent  and  population,  where  so  few  crimes  are  committed, 
and  of  the  robberies  and  murders  which  really  occur,  the 
greatest  part  by  far  are  the  work  of  the  Bheels,  who,  on  these 
mountains  as  well  as  in  Central  India,  maintain  a  precarious 
and  sanguinary  independence,  and  are  found  less  accessible 
to  such  means  of  conciliation  as  have  yet  been  tried  with  them, 
than  any  of  their  more  northern  kindred. 

The  existence  of  private  property  in  the  soil  seems  generally 
admitted  through  these  provinces,  and,  as  I  am  assured,  through 
the  southern  parts  of  the  peninsula.  ThePotails,  or  head-men 
of  the  village,  are  hereditary  ;  the  same  is  the  case  with  the 
barber,  watchman,  brahmin,  &c.  of  each  community,  each  of 
whom  is  endowed  with  his  little  glebe  of  land.  The  relation 
between  the  Rjut  and  the  Potail  1  could  not  clearly  learn,  but 
it  seemed  plain  that  the  latter  cculd  not  at  will  displace  the 
fornVer  from  his  farm,  and  that  in  the  event  of  his  not  paying 
the  fees  due  to  himself  or  the  crown,  he  has  no  remedy  but  in 
a  legal  process.  The  share  taken  by  government  appears  to 
be  high,  at  least  one-tifth,  and  this  is  settled  by  an  annual 
valuation.  Government  express  themselves  very  desirous  to 
bring  about  a  permanent  settlement,  but  say  that  till  they 
have  more  knowledge  as  to  the  land  itself,  and  its  real  pro- 


THE  DECKAN.  165 

prietors,  they  should  run  a  risk  of  doing  greater  injustice,  and 
occasioning  greater  evils  than  any  which  they  can  reasonably 
apprehend  under  the  present  system. 

The  Deckan  in  its  general  character  is  a  barren  country, 
and  the  population  evidently  falls  short  of  the  average  of  Eu- 
rope. In  Europe  there  is  no  country  of  which  it  reminds  me 
so  much  as  Hungary,  a  region  of  which  the  fertility  is  general- 
ly overrated.  Like  Hungary  great  part  of  the  Deckan  might 
seem  well  adapted  for  vines,  and  it  would  be  wise  in  govern- 
ment to  encourage  their  cultivation,  if  it  were  only  to  obtain  a 
better  beverage  for  their  troops  than  the  vile  brandy  which 
they  now  give  them  daily. 

The  Raja  of  Saltara  is  described  as  a  well  disposed  young 
man  of  good  understanding,  whose  system  of  government, 
though  he  is  now  quite  out  of  leading  strings,  is  still  happily 
influenced  by  the  instruction  and  example  which  he  received 
in  his  early  youth  from  the  then  resident.  Captain  Grant.  His 
country  is  peaceable,  orderly,  and  as  prosperous  as  can  be  ex- 
pected under  the  calamitous  dispensations  of  Providence, 
which  have  afflicted  it  as  well  as  its  neighbours.  The  Raja 
himself  is  said  to  be  so  ardent  a  professed  lover  of  peace  as 
almost  to  bring  his  sincerity  into  question,  never  failing  to 
express  wonder  and  horror  at  the  conduct  of  all  the  more  mar- 
tial or  quarrelsome  sovereigns  of  India.  The  other  petty  sove- 
reigns are  supposed  not  to  differ  from  the  average  of  Hindoo 
governors.  They  are  all  poor  and  disposed  to  be  turbulent, 
and  it  has  been  always  one  of  the  most  delicate  and  necessary 
duties  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Deckan  to  avoid  giving 
them  offence,  and  to  interfere  with  them  only  just  enough  to 
preserve  the  general  peace. 

The  climate  of  the  Deckan  is  highly  praised  during  the  rainy 
and  cool  seasons,  and  the  hot  winds  are  of  no  long  duration. 
Its  openness  and  height  above  the  sea  may  be  expected  to  ren- 
der it  salubrious.  Candeish  has  been  so  much  ruined  during 
the  years  of  trouble  that  a  great  part  of  it  is  jungle,  with  its 
usual  plagues  of  Bheels,  wild  beasts,  and  fevers.  The  con- 
cans  are  fertile,  but,  generally  speaking,  hot  and  unhealthy. 
Severndroog,  however,  and  its  neighbouring  station  of  Dapoo- 
lie,  in  the  southern  concan,  being  on  an  elevated  part  of  the 
coast,  enjoy  a  fine  breeze,  and  have  been  fixed  on  as  the  site 
of  a  convalescent  hospital  for  tlie  European  garrison  of  Bombay. 

July  5. — Dr.  Barnes  and  I  left  Poonah,  as  before,  in  our 
palanqueens,  except  that  I  rode  through  the  city  and  for  a  few 
miles  on  our  road,  till  the  sun  grew  too  hot.  We  passed  the 
river  by  a  deep  ford  immediately  beyond  the  town,  we  our- 
selves in  a  boat  and  the  horses  swam  over  5  and  arrived  at- 
Candaulah,  where  we  fclept.     The  rain  here  was  almost  in- 


166  CANDAULAH. 

cessant,  and  seemed  to  have  driven  under  the  shelter  of  the 
post  bungalow  many  animals  which  usually  avoid  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  man.  We  were  on  our  guard  against  scorpions 
and  centipedes,  of  which  the  tavern  keeper  told  us  that  he  had 
killed  many  within  the  last  few  days,  but  I  was  a  little  star- 
tled, while  passing  through  a  low  door-way,  to  feel  something 
unusual  on  my  shoulder,  and  on  turning  my  face  round,  to  see 
the  head  of  a  snake  pointed  towards  my  cheek.  I  shook  him 
off,  and  he  was  killed  by  a  servant.  He  was  a  small  green 
one,  mottled  with  a  few  black  spots  ;  some  of  those  who  saw 
him  declared  him  to  be  very  venomous,  others  denied  it,  and 
it  unluckily  did  not  occur  to  me  to  examine  his  fangs.  What- 
ever were  his  powers  of  mischief,  I  had  good  reason  to  be 
thankful  to  Providence  that  he  did  not  bite  me;  for,  besides  the 
necessity,  under  the  uncertainty  of  his  poisonous  nature,  of 
using  painful  remedies,  I  should  have  had  to  bear  many  hours 
suspense  between  life  and  death. 

I  rode  down  the  Ghats,  the  scenery  of  which  I  thought  even 
more  beautiful  than  I  did  when  I  ascended.  The  foliage  struck 
me  more,  and  I  was  particularly  pleased  with  a  species  of  palm, 
resembling  the  sago-tree,  which  seems  the  hardiest  of  its  genus 
and  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  beautiful.  Its  leaf  is  narrow- 
er than  most  other  kinds,  so  as  to  give  the  branches  at  some 
distance  something  of  the  air  of  a  weeping-willow,  but  it  has 
also  a  splendid  ornament  in  a  pendent  cluster  of  what  I  sup- 
pose to  be  seed-vessels,  hanging  like  an  enormous  ear  of  corn, 
among  the  boughs.  All  the  torrents,  most  of  which  had  been 
dry  when  I  passed  before,  were  now  full,  and  every  chasm  in 
the  steep  side  of  the  mountains  offered  the  prospect  of  a  cas- 
cade.    I  saw  here  ten  at  one  view. 

I  left  my  horse  at  Chowke,  where  we  breakfasted,  and  had 
the  good  fortune  to  meet  an  agreeable  young  man  of  the  name 
of  Babington,  many  members  of  whose  family  1  knew  in  Eng- 
land. Inns  are,  in  every  part  of  the  world,  the  favourite  scenes 
for  romances,  and  the  unexpected  interviews  in  which  romances 
abound;  but  I  have  often  thought  that  a  serai,  or  post-house  in 
India,  would  have  particular  advantages  in  this  way,  both  from 
the  wild  and  romantic  character  of  the  places  in  which  they 
stand,  and  the  strange  selection  from  all  the  liberal  profes- 
sions and  half  the  respectable  families  in  England,  who  may 
be,  without  improbability,  supposed  occasionally  to  meet  un- 
der circumstances  where  to  avoid  each  other  would,  even  if  it 
were  wished,  be  altogether  impossible. 

We  dined  and  slept  at  Panwellee,  where  we  found  a  bundur 
boat  and  two  cotton  boats  waiting  our  arrival;  the  boisterous 
south  wind  would  not  allow  of  our  going  direct  to  Bombay; 


RETURN  TO  BOMBAY.  167 

and  the  serang  said  the  tide  would  not  serve  for  our  sailing 
round  bj  Tannah  before  four  o'clock  the  next  morning. 

The  evening  we  employed  in  walking  about  the  little  town, 
where  I  found  some  Mussulmans  who  spoke  a  little  Hindoos- 
tanee,  and  a  Parsee  who  spoke  very  good  English.  I  also 
found  some  officers  of  one  of  the  East  India  Company's  ships, 
waiting  with  one  of  the  boats  of  the  vessel  for  the  arrival  of 
their  captain  from  Poonah.  They  told  me  of  the  very  stormy 
weather  which  had  occurred  since  my  leaving  Bombay,  during 
which  a  brig  of  war  in  the  service  of  the  Imam  of  Muscat  had 
been  cast  away,  and  one  of  the  English  vessels  which  had  left 
the  port  at  the  time  of  my  departure,  had  been  driven  back  in 
great  peril  and  distress.  The  Arab  captain  of  the  Imam's 
brig  I  had  met  at  breakfast  with  Mr.  Elphinstone,  and  was 
sincerely  sorry  for  his  misfortune.  Both  he  and  his  crew  were 
providentially  saved.  He  was  a  keen,  lively  little  man,  who 
spoke  English  well,  and  apparently  affected  English  manners, 
though  I  saw  no  traces  about  him  of  that  coarseness  and 
swearing  which  too  many  of  the  people  of  this  country  sup- 
pose to  be  characteristic  of  Englishmen.  He  had  taken  much 
pains  with  himself,  and  bore  the  reputation  of  a  very  tolera- 
ble sailor.  The  misfortune  which  had  now  overtaken  him 
was  not  attributed  to  ignorance,  or  any  thing  but  the  unusual 
violence  of  the  weather.  It  was  likely,  however,  to  be  verj 
injurious  to  his  success  in  life,  not  only  from,  the  actual  loss 
of  his  own  property  on  board  the  ship,  but  from  the  prejudice 
felt  by  Mussulmans  against  trusting  those  who  have  once 
shown  themselves  unlucky. 

At  the  appointed  hour  in  the  morning  of  the  7th  we  em- 
barked on  the  Panwellee  river,  with  a  strong  adverse  gale,  and 
heavy  showers.  The  tide  carried  us  down  to  the  mouth  of 
the  river,  and  considerably  favoured  our  egress.  We  had, 
however,  a  severe  struggle  after  entering  into  the  northern 
branch  of  the  Bombay  harbour,  got  wet  through  and  through, 
and  our  boat  filled  so  fast  with  the  seas  which  broke  over  us, 
that  two  of  the  crew  were  continually  engaged  in  baleing. 
This  continued  till,  after  many  short  tacks,  we  cleared  the 
point  which  divides  the  branch  in  which  we  were  tossing  from 
the  strait  leading  to  Tannah.  Along  this  last  we  went  with 
a  fair  wind,  and  arrived  safe  at  Tannah,  from  whence  I  re- 
turned to  Pareil. 

On  the  Saturday  following,  [July  10,)  I  went  to  Mr.  Bail- 
lie's,  the  senior  Judge  at  Tannah,  to  be  ready  to  celebrate 
tlie  consecration  of  the  new  church  there  the  next  day.  The 
church,  though  small,  is  extremely  elegant  and  convenient. 
The  architect,  Capt.  Tate,  in  order  to  secure  the  most  advan- 
tageous view  of  tlie  building,  externally,  with  reference  to 


168  BOMBAY. 

the  situation,  and  at  the  same  time  to  observe  the  ancient  ec- 
clesiastical custom  of  placing  the  altar  eastward,  has  con- 
trived the  chancel,  a  semicircle,  on  one  side,  like  a  little 
transept,  the  pulpit  being  in  a  corresponding  semicircle  oppo- 
site. The  arrangement  is  extremely  convenient,  and  the  ef- 
fect very  pleasing.  * 

Monday  morning  I  returned  to  Pareil. 

The  remainder  of  my  stay  in  Bombay  was  disagreeably  and 
laboriously  occupied  in  examining  into  the  conduct  and  cha- 
racter of  one  of  the  Chaplains,  a  man  of  talent  and  eloquence, 
and  with  high  pretensions  to  austere  piety.  The  inquiry 
ended  very  unsatisfactorily;  grievous  charges  were  brought 
against  him,  and  his  manner  of  conducting  his  defence  did 
his  own  character  much  disservice;  still,  as  nothing  of  any 
great  consequence  was  actually  proved  against  him,  I  only 
wrote  him  a  letter  expressive  of  my  feelings,  but  which  was 
calculated  to  induce  his  brethren  to  hope  the  best  concerning 
him,  and  not  to  conduct  themselves  towards  him  in  a  manner 
which  would  drive  him  from  society,  and  cut  off  his  chance  of 
amendment,  if  guilty.  This  I  did  the  day  of  my  departure, 
and  I  trust  I  acted  tor  the  best. 

My  miscellaneous  observations  on  Bombay  have  been  de- 
ferred so  long,  that  they  will  probably  be  very  imperfect. 
The  island,!  as  well  as  most  of  those  in  its  neighbourhood,  is 

•  The  principal  Protestaftt  chufch  \n  Bombay  is  within  the  Fort;  it 
is  a  large  and  handsome  building",  with  some  tolerably  g-ood  monu- 
ments; there  is  also  a  small  temporary  chapel  at  Matoong-a,  and  a 
church,  which  the  Bishop  consecrated,  has  recently  been  built  in  the 
island  of  Colabah,  where  there  are  considerable  cantonments.  There 
is  likewise  a  Presbyterian  place  of  worship  within  the  Fort.  A  regu- 
lar weekly  service  has  just  been  established  on  board  one  of  the  largest 
ships,  for  the  time  being,  in  the  harbour,  to  accommodate  those  offi- 
cers and  men  whose  duties  prevent  their  attending  church.  The  first 
day  the  experiment  was  made,  the  Bishop  preached  on  board  the 
"Windsor  Castle.  Mr.  Mainwaring  the  officiating  chaplain  in  the  church 
of  Colabah,  has  also  undertaken  this  harbour  duty.  Several  Portu- 
guese and  Armenian  churches,  two  or  three  synagogues,  and  many 
mosques  and  pagodas  are  scattered  about  in  various  parts  of  the  is- 
land.— Extract  from  Editor's  Journal. 

t  The  island  of  Colabah  is  situated  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbour, 
and  is  connected  with  that  of  Bombay  by  a  pier,  which  is,  however 
overflowed  at  high-water.  Adjoining  this  pier  are  the  docks,  which 
are  large,  and,  I  believe,  the  only  considerable  ones  in  India,  where 
the  tides  do  not  often  rise  high  enough  to  admit  of  their  construction. 
Cotton  is  the  principal  article  of  export,  great  quantities  of  which  come 
from  the  north-west  of  India,  and  I  have  frequently  been  interested  in 
seeing  the  immense  bales  lying  on  the  piers,  and  the  ingenious  screw 
with  which  an  astonishing  quantity  is  pressed  into  the  canvass  bags. 
Bombay  is  the  port  from  whence  almost  all  the  trade  of  the  west  and 
north  is  shipped  for  China  and  England;  there  are  several  ships  build* 


BOMBAY.  169 

apparently  little  more  than  a  cluster  of  small  detached  rocks, 
which  have  been  joined  together  by  the  gradual  progress  of 
coral  reefs,  aided  by  sand  thrown  up  by  the  sea,  and  covered 
with  the  vegetable  mould  occasioned  by  the  falling  leaves  of 
the  sea-loving  coco.  The  interior  consists  of  a  long  but  nar- 
row tract  of  low  ground,  which  has  evidently  been,  in  the 
first  instance,  a  salt  lagoon,  gradually  filled  up  by  the  pro- 
gress which  I  have  mentioned,  and  from  which  the  high  tides 
are  still  excluded  only  by  artificial  embankments.  This  tract 
is  a  perfect  marsh  during  the  rainy  season,  and  in  a  state  of 
high  rice  cultivation.  The  higher  ground  is  mere  rock  and 
sand,  but  covered  with  coco  and  toddy-palms  where  they  can 
grow.^  There  is  scarcely  any  open  or  grass-land  in  the  is- 
land, except  the  esplanade  before  the  fort,  and  the  exercising 
ground  at  Matoonga,  which  last  is  the  head-quarters  of  the 
artillery.  The  fort,  or  rather  the  fortified  town,  has  many 
large  and  handsome  houses,  but  few  European  residents, 
being  hot,  close  built,  with  narrow  streets,  projecting  upper 
stories  and  rows,  in  the  style  which  is  common  all  over  this 
side  of  India,  and  of  which  the  old  houses  in  Chester  give  a 
sufiiciently  exact  idea. 

The  Bombay  houses  are,  externally,  less  beautiful  than  those 
of  Calcutta,  having  no  pillared  verandahs,  and  being  disfigur- 
ed by  huge  and  high  pitched  roofs  of  red  tiles.  They  are,  ge- 
nerally speaking,  however,  larger,  and  on  the  whole  better 
adapted  to  the  climate. 

ing-  in  the  slips,  and  the  whole  place  has  the  appearance  of  being  a 
flourishing-  commercial  sea-port. 

Pearls  and  turquoises  are  broug-ht  from  the  Persian  gtilph  in  great 
numbers,  some  of  which  are  very- valuable,  and  fine  cornelians  and 
agates  also  come  from  Surat. — Extract  from  Editor's  Journal. 

•  The  sea  abounds  in  excellent  fish.  The  bumbelow,  very  much 
resembling-  an  eel  in  shape,  is  considered  one  of  the  best,  and  g-reat 
quantities  are  annually  dried  for  the  Calcutta  market:  it  appeared  to 
me  little  better  than  a  tasteless  mass  of  jelly,  and  very  inferior  to  most 
of  the  other  kinds.  Larg-e  sea-snakes  are  seen  in  numbers  swimming 
on  the  surface  of  the  water:  and  I  was  assured,  that  on  the  Malabar 
coast  the  sailors  always  know  when  they  are  within  sounding's  by  the 
appearance  of  these  animals.  Buffaloes  are  very  common  in  the  is- 
land, but  their  beef  is  not  reckoned  good,  and  their^milk  is  poorer  than 
that  of  the  cow.  There  are  no  beasts  of  prey,  excepting  a  few  hyae- 
nas, which  are  seldom  met  with ;  nor  are  there  many  poisonous  snakes 
or  insects  to  be  seen.  The  great  variety  and  fine  plumage  of  the 
smaller  birds  struck  me  very  forcibly;  and  some  of  their  notes,  espe- 
cially that  of  the  nightingale,  are  very  beautiful.  The  poultry  is  al- 
most all  brought  from  the  coast,  as  well  as  most  kinds  of  vegetables: 
indeed  the  island  itself  is  much  too  small  to  feed  its  population;  and, 
save  onions,  mangoes,  the  sweet  potatoe,  rice,  dhal,  and  a  few  other 
kinds  ot  grain,  it  produces  little  but  the  varieties  of  the  palm-tribes. — 
Extract  from  Editor'' s  Journal. 


170      DEPARTURE  FROM  BOMBAY MR.   ELPHINSTONE. 

We  took  our  final  leave  of  Bombay  on  the  15th  of  August, 
and  embarked  in  the  Discovery,  commanded  by  Captain 
Brucks,  of  the  Company's  Marine.  Mr.  Elphinstone  asked 
all  the  principal  civil  and  military  servants  of  the  Company 
to  breatfast  on  the  occasion,  in  the  government-house  in  the 
fort^  many  of  them  accompanied  us  to  the  water's  edge,  and 
others  went  on  board  with  us,  among  whom  was  Mr.  Meriton, 
the  superintendant  of  Marine,  known  by  the  desperate  valour 
which  he  displayed  on  several  occasions  while  commanding 
different  East  India  ships.  Mr.  Robinson  of  Poonah,  and  Dr. 
Smith,  accompanied  me  as  chaplain  and  medical  attendant. 

Although  we  had  long  looked  forward  with  eagerness  to  the 
moment  when  I  should  be  at  liberty  to  resume  a  journey  which 
was  to  take  us  to  Calcutta,  and  to  unite  us  all  once  more  to- 
gether, we  could  not  leave  Bombay  without  regret.  There 
were  some  persons  whom  we  were  sincerely  pained  to  part 
with  there.  We  had  met  with  much  and  marked  kindness 
and  hospitality,  we  had  enjoyed  the  society  of  several  men  of 
distinguished  talent,  and  all  my  views  for  the  regulation  and 
advantage  of  the  Clergy,  and  for  the  gradual  advancement  of 
Christianity,  had  met  with  a  support  beyond  my  hopes,  and 
unequalled  in  any  other  part  of  India. 

I  had  found  old  acquaintances  in  Sir  Edward  West  and  Sir 
Charles  Chambers,  and  an  old  and  valuable  friend,  (as  well 
as  a  sincerely  attached  and  cordial  one,)  in  Archdeacon  Barnes. 
Above  all,  however,  I  had  enjoyed  in  the  unremitting  kind- 
ness, the  splendid  hospitality,  and  agreeable  conversation  of 
Mr.  Elphinstone,  the  greatest  pleasure  of  the  kind  which  I 
have  ever  enjoyed  either  in  India  or  Europe. 

Mr.  Elphinstone  is,  in  every  respect,  an  extraordinary  man, 
possessing  great  activity  of  body  and  mind,  remarkable  talent 
for,  and  application  to  public  business,  a  love  of  literature,  and 
a  degree  of  almost  universal  information,  such  as  I  have  met 
with  in  no  other  person  similarly  situated,  and  manners  and 
conversation  of  the  most  amiable  and  interesting  character. 
While  he  has  seen  more  of  India  and  the  adjoining  countries 
than  any  man  now  living,  and  has  been  engaged  in  active  po- 
litical and  sometimes  military  duties  since  the  age  of  eigiiteen, 
he  has  found  time  not  only  to  cultivate  the  languages  of  Hin- 
dostan  and  Persia,  but  to  preserve  and  extend  his  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Greek  an<l  Latin  classics,  with  the  Frencli  and 
Italian,  with  all  the  elder  and  more  distinguished  English 
writers,  and  with  the  current  and  popular  literature  of  the  day, 
both  in  poetry,  history,  politics,  and  political  economy.  \N'ith 
these  remarkable  accomplishments,  and  notwithstanding  a  tem- 
perance amounting  to  rigid  abstinence,  he  is  fond  of  society, 
and  it  is  a  common  subject  of  surprise  with  his  friends,  at  what 


MK.  ELPHINSTONE.  171 

hours  of  the  day  or  night  he  finds  time  for  the  acquisition  of 
knowledge.  His  policy,  so  far  as  India  is  concerned,  appear- 
ed to  me  peculiarly  wise  and  liberal,  and  he  is  evidently  at- 
tached to,  and  thinks  well  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants. 
His  public  measures,  in  their  general  tendency,  evince  a  steady 
wish  to  improve  their  present  condition.  No  government  iii 
India  pays  so  much  attention  to  schools  and  public  institutions 
for  education.  In  none  are  the  taxes  lighter,  and  in  the  ad- 
ministration of  justice  to  the  natives  in  their  own  languages, 
in  the  establishment  of  punchaets,  in  the  degree  in  which  he 
employs  the  natives  in  official  stations,  and  the  countenance 
and  familiarity  which  he  extends  to  all  the  natives  of  rank  who 
approach  him,  he  seems  to  have  reduced  to  practice,  almost 
all  the  reforms  which  had  struck  me  as  most  required  in  the 
system  of  government  pursued  in  those  provinces  of  our  Eastern 
Empire  which  I  had  previously  visited.  His  popularity,  (thougli 
to  such  a  feeling  there  may  be  individual  exceptions,)  appears 
little  less  remarkable  tlian  his  talents  and  acquirements,  and 
I  was  struck  by  the  remark  I  once  heard,  that"  all  other  pub- 
lic men  had  their  enemies  and  their  friends,  their  admirers, 
and  their  aspersors,  but  that  of  Mr.  Elphinstone,  every  body 
spoke  highly."  Of  his  munificence,  for  his  liberality  amounts 
to  this,  I  had  heard  much,  and  knew  some  instances  myself. 

With  regard  to  the  free  press,  I  was  curious  to  know  the 
motives  or  apprehensions  which  induced  Mr.  Elphinstone  to 
be  so  decidedly  opposed  to  it  in  this  country.  In  discussing 
the  topic  he  was  always  open  and  candid,  acknowledged  that 
the  dangers  ascribed  to  a  free  press  in  India  had  been  exagge- 
rated,— but  spoke  of  the  exceeding  inconvenience,  and  even 
danger  which  arose  from  the  disunion  and  dissension  which 
political  discussion  produced  among  the  European  officers  at 
the  ditierent  stations,  the  embarrassment  occasioned  to  govern- 
ment by  the  exposure  and  canvass  of  all  their  measures  by  the 
Lentuli  and  Gracchi  of  a  newspaper,  and  his  preference  of 
decided  and  vigorous,  to  half  measures,  where  any  restrictive 
measures  at  all  were  necessary.  I  confess  that  his  opinion 
and  experience  are  the  strongest  presumptions  which  I  have 
yet  met  with  in  favour  of  the  censorship, 

A  charge  has  been  brought  against  Mr.  Elphinstone  by  the 
indiscreet  zeal  of  an  amiable,  but  not  well-judging  man,  the 
*' field  officer  of  cavalry,"  who  published  his  Indian  travels, 
that  "  he  is  devoid  of  religion,  and  blinded  to  all  spiritual 
truth."  I  can  only  say  that  I  saw  no  reason  to  think  so.  On 
the  contrary,  after  this  character  which  I  had  read  of  him,  I 
was  most  agreeably  surprised  to  find  that  his  conduct  and  con- 
versation, so  far  as  I  could  learn,  had  been  always  moral  and 
decorous,  that  he  was  regular  inliis  attendance  on  public  wor- 

VoL.  II.— 15 


172  MR.   ELPHINSTONE. 

ship,  and  not  only  well-informed  on  religious  topics,  but  well 
pleased  and  forward  to  discuss  them;  that  his  views  appeared 
to  me,  on  all  essential  subjects,  doctrinally  correct,  and  his 
feelings  serious  and  reverential  5  and  that  he  was  not  only  in- 
clined to  do,  but  actually  did  more  for  the  encouragement  of 
Christianity,  and  the  suppression  or  diminution  of  suttees, 
than  any  other  Indian  Governor  has  ventured  on.  That  he 
may  have  differed  in  some  respects  from  the  peculiar  views  of 
the  author  in  question,  I  can  easily  believe,  though  he  could 
hardly  know  himself  in  what  this  difference  consisted,  since  I 
am  assured,  that  he  had  taken  his  opinion  at  second  hand,  and 
not  from  any  thing  which  Mr.  Elphinstone  had  either  said  or 
done.  But  I  have  been  unable  to  refrain  from  giving  this  slight 
and  imperfect  account  of  the  character  of  Mr.  Elphinstone,  as 
it  appeared  to  me,  since  I  should  be  sorry  to  have  it  thought 
that  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  amiable  men  I  ever  met  with, 
were  either  a  profligate  or  an  unbeliever. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  25th  of  August^  we  cast  anchor 
outside  the  harbour  of  Galle,  but  the  directions  given  in  the 
government  chart  for  anchoring  during  this  monsoon,  proved 
so  incorrect,  that  when  the  pilot  came  on  board  he  found  the 
vessel  in  a  very  dangerous  situation,  lying  so  close  upon  rocks, 
that,  as  the  wind  was  blowing  hard  he  could  not  venture  to 
weigh  anchor,  lest  she  should  drive  on  them;  he  was  obliged, 
therefore,  to  warp  her  off",  which  occupied  the  whole  of  the 
morning,  a  miserable  one  to  me,  for  the  sea  ran  very  high,  and 
the  ship  tossed  and  rolled  unceasingly.  Mr.  Glenie,  the  senior 
Colonial  Chaplain;  Mr.  Layard,  the  Judge  of  Galle;  Mr.  Mayor, 
one  of  the  Church  Missionaries,  and  the  Master  Attendant  of 
Galle,  came  on  board  to  meet  us;  and,  about  three  o'clock,  the 
vessel  was  got  safe  into  harbour.  The  fort  fired  a  salute,  which 
the  Discovery  returned,  and  we  were  met  on  the  pier  by  the 
principal  inhabitants  of  the  place,  the  regiment  stationed  there, 
and  a  band  of  spearmen  and  lascarines.  The  pier  was  covered 
M  ith  white  cloth,  and  we  passed  between  two  files  of  soldiers 
to  the  place  where  palanqueens,  &c.  were  waiting;  in  which, 
preceded  by  native  music,  a  constant  attendant  on  all  proces- 
sions, we  went  two  miles  tothe  cutcherry,  where  we  were  in- 


JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  173 

vited,  and  most  kindly  and  hospitably  entertained,  by  Mr. 
Sansoni,  the  collector  of  the  district. 

Point  de  Galle  is  situated  at  nearly  the  southern  extremity 
of  Ceylon,  and  its  harbour  is  very  spacious  and  beautiful,  being 
formed  in  part  by  rocks,  over  which  the  sea  foams  and  dashes 
in  a  glorious  manner;  it  has  not  more  than  two  or  three  ships, 
and  a  few  small  craft,  within  it  at  present.  One  of  the  former 
is  an  Arab  which  left  Calcutta  for  Bombay,  a  few  days  before 
I  sailed,  early  in  March;  out  of  pure  cowardice  the  captain 
put  in  here,  where  he  has  remained  ever  since,  and  will  not 
move  till  the  strength  of  the  monsoon  is  over.  Homeward 
bound  ships  occasionally  touch  at  this  port,  and  one  East  In- 
diaman  regularly  comes  every  year  to  carry  oft*  the  cinnamon, 
prepared  for  exportation. 

Avery  few  English  and  Dutch  families  form  the  society  of 
the.place,  and  they  reside  principally  within  the  fort;  the  "pet- 
tah,"  or  native  town,  is  extensive,  and  the  houses  neat.  At 
present  it  has  a  very  gay  appearance,  from  being  ornamented 
in  the  Cingalese  manner,  in  honour  of  the  Bishop's  arrival, 
with  palm-branches,  flowers,  and  fruits,  in  which  kind  of  de- 
coration the  natives  are  very  ingenious,  and  which  gives  the 
whole  village  the  appearance  of  a  jubilee.  Mr.  Sansoni's  is  a 
lower-roomed  house,  but  very  spacious  and  comfortable,  com- 
manding a  view  of  the  harbour.  He  is  an  Italian  by  birth,  but 
is  become  quite  Anglicised  by  a  long  residence  in  the  island. 

The  Cingalese  on  the  coast  differ  very  much  from  any  Indians 
I  have  yet  seen,  and  their  language,  also,  is  different;  they 
wear  no  turban,  or  other  kind  of  covering,  on  the  head,  but  turn 
up  their  long  black  hair  with  large  tortoise-shell  combs;  the 
Coolies,  and  labouring  classes  have  merely  the  waistcloth,  as  in 
Bengal;  but  the  ''Moodeliers,"  or  native  magistrates,  head- 
men as  they  are  generally  called,  wear  a  strange  mixture  of 
the  Portuguese  and  native  dress,  but  handsome,  from  the  gold 
with  which  it  is  covered.  The  Moodelier  of  Galle,  and  all  his 
family,  are  Christians;  he  is  a  most  respectable  man,  in  face  and 
figure  resembling  Louis  XVIII.  to  whom  his  sons  also  bear  a 
strong  likeness:  the  old  man  wears  a  handsome  gold  medal, 
given  him  for  meritorious  conduct. 

August  26.^ — The  heat  is  said  to  be  never  very  oppressive  at 
Galle,  being  constantly  tempered  by  sea-breezes,  and  by  fre- 
quent rain;  the  total  absence  of  punkahs,  indeed,  proves  the 
climate  to  be  moderate.  The  fort  was  built  by  the  Dutch,  and 
is  a  good  deal  out  of  repair.  We  dined  to-day  at  Mr.  Layard's, 
who  has  an  excellent  house  within  its  walls  ;  we  went  in  our 
palanqueens,  and  instead  of  the  lanterns  to  which  we  had  been 
accustomed  in  Calcutta  and  Bombay,  were  preceded  by  men 
carrying  long  palm-branches  on  lire;  tke  appearance  of  these 


174  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

natural  torches  was  picturesque,  and  their  smell  not  unplea- 
sant; but  the  sparks  and  flakes  of  fire  which  they  scattered 
about  were  verj  disagreeable,  and  frequently  were  blown  into 
my  palanqueen,  to  the  great  danger  of  my  muslin  dress:  they 
are  never  used  Avithin  tlie  fort. 

August  9>7. — Our  original  plan  of  going  from  hence  to  Bad- 
dagame,  a  Church-missionary  station,  about  thirteen  miles  from 
Galle,  where  there  is  a  church  to  be  consecrated,  has  been  frus- 
trated by  the  heavy  rains  which  have  lately  fallen,  and  which 
have  swollen  the  river  so  much  as  to  make  the  journey  im- 
practicable;  we  therefore  decided  on  remaining  over  Sunday 
here,  and  we  sent  oft'  the  greatest  part  of  our  servants,  bag- 
gage, &c.  to  Colombo,  a  distance  of  seventy-two  miles. 

The  Bishop  was  occupied  all  the  morning  in  ecclesiastical 
affairs.  There  is  neither  Chaplain  nor  resident  Church-mis- 
sionary here,  but  Mr.  Mayor  and  Mr.  Ward  occasionally  come 
from  Baddagame  to  do  the  duty,  and  the  former  remained  here 
a  month  previous  to  our  arrival,  to  prepare  the  young  people 
for  confirmation.  The  Wesleyan  Society  has  a  Missionary, 
who  sometimes  does  duty  in  the  church.  Mrs.  Gisborne  has 
a  school  about  a  mile  from  the  cutcherry,  of  which  we  hear  an 
excellent  report:  she  is  at  present  at  Colombo,  but  when  we 
return  to  embark  for  Calcutta  we  hope  to  visit  it  with  her. 

August  28.— -The  Bishop  confirmed  about  thirty  persons^ 
of  whom  the  greater  proportion  were  natives;  some  of  the 
Moodelier's  family  were  among  the  number,  but  the  rest  were 
principally  scholars  from  Mrs.  Gisborne's  school.  He  after- 
wards preached.  The  church  was  built  by  the  Dutch,  and, 
according  to  their  custom,  is  without  a  communion  table,  and 
for  the  most  part  open.  It  is  kept  neatly,  but  it  is  a  good 
deal  out  of  repair.  The  native  part  of  the  congregation  was 
numerous,  and  paid  great  attention  to  the  ceremony,  though 
many  were  there  out  of  curiosity  alone.  Mr.  Robinson  preached 
in  the  evening. 

August  29. — This  morning,  at  three  o'clock,  we  were 
roused  by  beat  of  drum,  to  prepare  for  our  march  to  Colombo; 
we  formed  a  long  cavalcade  of  palanqueens  and  gigs,  preceded 
by  an  escort  of  spearmen,  and  the  noisy  inharmonious  music 
I  mentioned  before,  and  attended  by  some  of  Mr.  Sansoni's 
lascarines,  who  answer  in  some  respects  to  our  peons  in  Cal- 
cutta; they  wear  rather  a  pretty  uniform  of  white,  red,  and 
black,  and  a  conical  red  cap,  with  an  upright  white  feather  in  it. 
Instead  of  the  chattah  used  with  us,  these  men  carry  large 
fans,  made  of  the  talipot-palm,  which  is  peculiar  to  Ceylon, 
from  six  to  nine  feet  in  length,  over  the  heads  of  Europeans 
and  rich  natives,  to  guard  them  from  the  sun.  The  road  was 
decorated  the  whole  way  as  for  a  festival,  with  long  strips  of 


JOURNAL  OP  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  175 

palm-branches  hung  upon  strings  on  either  side,  and  where- 
ever  we  stopt,  we  found  the  ground  spread  with  white  cloth, 
and  awnings  erected,  beautifully  decorated  with  flowers  and 
fruits,  and  festooned  witli  palm-branches.  These  remnants 
of  the  ancient  custom  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  of  strewing  the 
road  with  palm-branches  and  garments,  are  curious  and  in- 
teresting. 

At  day-break  we  crossed  the  first  river  in  a  boat  with  a 
decorated  awning,  and  at  the  end  of  twenty  miles,  which  was 
■accomplished  by  the  same  set  of  bearers  by  ten  o'clock,  we 
arrived  at  one  of  the  rest-houses,  where  we  breakfasted,  and 
remained* during  the  heat  of  the  day.  These  are  built  and 
kept  up  by  government,  for  the  accommodation  of  travellers, 
and  are  bungalows,  merely  consisting  of  three  or  four  unfur- 
nished rooms,  with,  possibly,  some  cane  bedsteads,  on  which 
the  palanqueen  mattrasses  are  placed;  here,  as  in  India,  every 
individual  article  wanted  in  marching,  is  carried  with  one, 
save  tents,  which  on  this  line  of  road  are  supplied  by  these 
houses.  The  name  of  this  place  is  Amblegodde;  it  is  situated 
on  a  height  commanding  an  extensive  view  of  the  sea,  having 
a  bold  shore  on  either  side,  with  two  or  three  small  fishing 
harbours,  or  rather  creeks. 

In  a  small  bungalow,  close  to  the  sea,  we  found  a  splendid 
breakfast  prepared  for  us  by  the  Moodelier  of  Galle.     We 
were  met  here  by  a  set  of  dancers  with  grotesque  masks,  in 
dresses  very  much  resembling  those  worn  by  the  Otaheitan 
dancers,  as  represented  in  the  prints  of  Captain  Cook's  voyages. 
When  it  grew  cool  we  again  set  out,  still  carried  by  the  same 
bearers,  there  being  no  means  of  laying  a  dak  here  as  in  Ben- 
gal; these  men,  like  the  Madras  bearers,  make  a  sort  of  groan- 
ing noise  every  step  they  take,  which  is  to  a  stranger  very 
unpleasant;  they  go  through  all  the  sounds  of  the  vowels  al- 
ternately, hi,  ho,  hu, — he,  hi,  hu,  and  so  on.     Our  road  had 
hitherto  lain  through  a  continued  wood  of  palm-trees,  which 
from  its  uniformity  would  have  been  tedious,  but  for  the 
flowering  shrubs  and  underwood  with  which  the  ground  was 
covered,   and   for  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  sea 
breaking  beautifully  over  large  insulated  masses  of  coral  rock: 
the  coast,  as  well  as  the  country  for  some  miles  inland,  is 
generally  flat,  and  intersected  by  rivers  and  arms,  (or  rather 
indents,)  of  the  sea.     The  population  appears  to  consist  ex- 
clusively of  fishermen,  and  the  houses  bear  a  greater  appear- 
ance of  comfort  than  is  usually  seen  in  fishing  villages  in  India. 
Sixteen  miles  further  brought  us  to  Ben  Totte,  where  we  dined 
and  slept.     This  rest-house  is  on  the  estuary  of  a  broad  river, 
but  close  to  the  sea,  and  the  scenery  about  it  is  extremely 
beautiful.     We  had  just  time  before  ni^ht  closed  in  to  take 

15* 


176  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CETLON^ 

some  sketches  of  this  lovely  spot;  but  it  was  extremely  diffi- 
cult to  make  any  thing  like  an  accurate  representation  of  its 
^enery.  Each  river  has  its  rest-house  on  either  side,  which 
would  seem  to  have  been  built  before  the  regular  ferries  were 
established,  when  passengers  had  to  wait,  perhaps,  many  days 
for  the  floods  to  subside,  which  here  are  as  sudden  as  they  are 
frequent.  "With  a  little  contrivance  we  managed  to  pass  the 
night  very  comfortably  either  in  palanqueens,  or  on  their  ma- 
trasses placed  on  cane  bedsteads.  In  this  climate,  in  places 
■where  there  are  no  mosquitoes,  which  happily  is  the  case  in 
this  monsoon,  very  little  preparation  is  required  for  a  night's 
lodging.  Emily  makes  a  capital  traveller,  and  really  enjoys 
it  as  much  as  any  of  the  party :  a  palanqueen  is  indeed  by  far 
the  least  fatiguing  way  in  which  a  child  can  tj-avel. 

August  30. — At  four  this  morning  wx  were  roused  by  the 
reveille.  Mr.  Sansoni  here  took  his  leave,  having  very  kindly 
accompanied  us  to  the  end  of  his  district,  to  see  that  we  wanted 
no  comfort  or  accommodation:  the  Galle  escort  also  left  us, 
and  we  were  met  by  spearmen,  &c.  &c.  from  Colombo;  having 
crossed  the  river  in  a  highly  ornamented  boat,  we  proceeded 
twelve  miles  along  a  road  made  more  interesting  by  the  mix- 
ture of  timber-trees  with  the  palm.  The  bread-fruit  tree  I 
here  saw  for  the  first  time,  growing  to  an  immense  size,  and 
with  gigantic  leaves,  shaped  like  those  of  the  fig-tree;  the 
Jamba,  or  rose-apple,  strewing  the  ground  with  its  beautiful 
scarlet  flowers;  the  banyan,  and  the  cotton-tree  with  many 
others,  whose  names  I  did  not  know. 

The  wild  pine-apple  grows  in  abundance;  it  is  a  shrub  not 
of  any  great  size,  which  throws  out  its  branches  into  all  kinds 
of  fantastic  shapes,  bearing  a  fruit  resembling  a  pine-apple, 
but  pendant  and  without  a  crown;  it  is  said  to  be  poisonous; 
another  shrub  with  a  small  leaf,  whose  name  I  forget,  is  va- 
lued by  the  natives  on  account  of  its  emetic  properties;  the 
end  of  each  twig  is  crowned  by  two  white  leaves,  out  of  which 
a  small  and  ugly  flower  springs. 

Of  flowers  the  Gloriosa  superba  and  the  Amaryllis  are  the 
most  beautiful  and  grow  in  profusion;  many  others  which  I 
had  been  accustomed  to  see  in  hot-houses  at  home,  weak  and 
stunted,  here  grow  in  splendid  luxuriance;  in  places  the  trees 
appeared  to  stand  on  a  carpet  of  flowers. 

At  Caltura  is  a  small  fort  built  to  defend  the  passage  of  the 
river  in  former  times,  and  now  occasionally  inhabited  by  Mr. 
Rodney,  one  of  the  members  of  government,  on  a  hill  which 
commands  an  extensive  view  of  the  sea  with  a  tine  river  run- 
ning at  its  foot,  now,  like  all  the  others,  much  swollen  with 
the  rain.  Mr.  Rodney  drove  us  in  his  carriage  from  hence  to 
Paltura,  where  after  crossing  a  fourth  river,  we  were  met  by 


JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  177 

Sir  Edward  Barnes's  carriage,  drawn  bj  four  beautiful  Eng- 
lish horses,  which  took  us,  with  a  fresh  relay  through  the  fort 
at  Colombo,  where  the  usual  salute  was  fired,  to  St.  Sebastian. 
Here  we  found  a  most  comfortable  house,  provided  and  fur- 
nished by  government,  on  the  borders  of  a  large  lake,  but 
commanding  a  fine  open  view  of  the  sea.  This  was  the  resi- 
dence of  the  late  Archdeacon  Twistleton,  whose  death  we  have 
heard  much  lamented;  itis  reckoned  oneot  thehealthiest  spots 
in  the  island,  always  enjoying  a  fine  breeze  from  the  sea.  In 
the  evening  we  dined  at  the  "  king's  house,"  that  being  the 
name  given  to  the  residence  of  the  governor  in  this  colony. 
We  were  most  kindly  received  by  Sir  Edward  and  Lady 
Barnes,  and  met  a  small  and  agreeable  party,  but  I  was  much 
tired,  and  glad  to  go  home  early.  The  house  is  a  bad  one,  in 
the  centre  of  the  fort,  but  every  thing  is  conducted  on  a 
handsome  and  liberal  scale  by  the  Governor. 

August  31. — Our  morning  was,  as  usual  on  a  first  arrival, 
taken  up  by  visits;  in  the  afternoon  we  drove  in  Sir  E.  Barnes's 
sociable  through  the  far-famed  cinnamon  gardens,  which  cover 
upwards  of  17,000  acres  of  land  on  the  coast,  the  largest  of 
which  are  near  Colombo.  The  plant  thrives  best  in  a  poor  sandy 
soil  in  a  damp  atmosphere;  it  grows  wild  in  the  woods  to  the 
size  of  a  large  apple-tree,  but  when  cultivated  is  never  allowed 
to  grow  more  than  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  height,  each  plant 
standing  separate.  The  leaf  is  something  like  that  of  the 
laurel  in  shape,  but  of  a  lighter  colour;  when  it  first  shoots  out 
it  is  red,  and  changes  gradually  to  green.  It  is  now  out  ot  blos- 
som, but  I  am  told  that  the  flower  is  white,  and  appears  when 
in  full  bk)ssom  to  cover  the  garden.  After  hearing  so  much 
of  the  spicy  gales  from  this  island,  I  was  much  disappointed 
at  not  being  able  to  discover  any  scent,  at  least,  from  the 
plants,  in  passing  through  the  gardens;  there  is  a  very  fra- 
grant smelling  flower  growing  under  them,  which  at  first  led 
us  into  a  belief  that  we  smelt  the  cinnamon,  but  we  were  soon 
undeceived.  On  pulling  oft*  a  leaf  or  a  twig  you  perceive  the 
spicy  odour  very  strongly,  but  I  was  surprised  to  hear  that 
the  flower  has  little  or  none.  As  cinnamon  forms  the  only 
considerable  export  of  Ceylon,  it  is  of  course  preserved  with 
great  care;  by  the  old  Dutch  law  the  penalty  for  cutting  a 
branch  was  no  less  than  the  loss  of  a  hand;  at  present  a  tine 
expiates  the  same  off*ence.  The  neighbourhood  of  Colombo  is 
particularly  favourable  to  its  growth,  being  well  sheltered, 
with  a  high  equable  temperature;  and  as  showers  fall  very  fre- 
quently, though  a  whole  day's  heavy  rain  is  uncommon,  the 
ground  is  never  parched. 

The   pearl  fisliery  was  at  one  time  very  productive,  but 
some  years  ago  it  entirely  failed,  and  tljough  it  has  lately  been 


178  JOURNAL  OP  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

resumed,  the  success  has  been  small.  Ceylon,  partly  from  its 
superabundant  fertility,  which  will  scarcely  allow  of  the 
growth  of  foreign  plants,  and  partly  from  the  indolence  of  the 
natives,  is  a  very  poor  colonyj  the  potatoe  will  not  thrive  at 
all,  and  it  is  only  at  Candy,  a  town  about  seventy  miles  in 
the  interior,  that  any  kind  of  European  vegetable  comes  to  per- 
fection. The  Governor  has  a  basket  full  sent  down  every 
morning  from  his  garden  there;  the  bread-fruit  is  the  best 
substitute  for  potatoes  I  have  met  with,  but  even  this  is  ex- 
tremely inferior.  A  plant,  something  between  the  turnip  and 
the  cabbage,  called  "  nolkol,"  is  good,  but  it  is  not  indigenous, 
having  been  originally  imported  from  the  Cape. 

I  heard  a  gentleman  say,  with  reference  to  the  indolence  of 
the  natives,  "give  a  man  a  coco-tree,  and  he  will  do  nothing 
for  his  livelihood;  he  sleeps  under  its  shade,  or  perhaps  builds 
a  hut  of  its  branches,  eats  its  nuts  as  they  fall,  drinks  its  juice, 
and  smokes  his  life  away."  Out  of  a  numerous  population, 
a  small  proportion  are  labourers;  the  system  of  forced  labour, 
which  we  found  established  by  the  Dutch,  still  exists  in  some 
degree,  and  a  man  can  hardly  be  expected  to  pay  much  at- 
tention to  the  culture  of  his  field,  when  he  is  liable  at  any  mo- 
ment to  be  taken  oft'  to  public  works;  in  his  own  district  he  re- 
ceives no  payment  for  road  making,  but  when  removed  to  a 
distance  he  has  three  fanams,  or  three  half-pence  per  day. 
The  people  are,  however,  lightly  taxed,  and  the  general  aspect 
of  their  houses  would  indicate  more  comfort  and  attention  to 
appearances  than  all  I  had  heard  of  them  had  led  me  to  expect. 

There  is  one  custom  here  which  I  have  not  seen  elsewhere, 
which  struck  me  as  remarkably  humane;  at  certain  distances 
along  the  road  large  pots  of  water,  with  ladles  attached  to 
them,  are  placed  for  the  use  of  travellers,  and  I  have  fre- 
quently seen  one  of  my  bearers  take  a  draught  with  great 
eagerness,  and  then  run  to  join  his  comrades  at  my  palanqueen. 

We  dined  again  at  the  king's  house,  and  met  nearly  all  the 
European  society  of  the  place.  The  colour  of  the  natives  ex- 
cepted, every  thing  wears  a  more  English  aspect  than  we  have 
been  accustomed  to  in  India,  (the  residents  made  a  distinction 
between  the  island  and  the  continent,  not  allowing  the  former 
to  be  India.)  Where  coachmen  are  kept,  they  are  invariably 
Europeans,  who  do  not  appear  to  suffer  from  the  sun;  the  Cin- 
galese have  not  the  slightest  idea  of  driving,  and  know  very 
little  about  a  horse,  and  the  "horse-keeper,"  as  the  saees  is 
here  called,  as  well  as  in  Bombay,  is  invariably  from  tlie  coast. 
Those  persons  who  have  not  European  coachmen  have  the 
horses  of  their  palanqueen-carriages  and  "bandies,"  or  gigs, 
led  by  these  men,  and  the  pace  at  which  they  run  is  surpris- 
ing.    Gigs  and  hackeries  all  go  here  by  the  generic  name  of 


JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  179 

bandy.  The  Calcutta  caranchie,  and  the  Bombay  shigrum  po, 
are  alike  unknown.  The  regiment  doing  duty  in  the  fort  is 
European,  and  the  white  sentries  assist  materially  in  giving 
the  place  an  European  look. 

September  1.— -The  Bishop  held  his  Visitation,  which  was 
attended  by  all  the  colonial  Chaplains  and  Church-Missiona- 
ries in  the  island,  the  latter  of  whom  were  assembled  at  Cotta 
for  their  annual  meeting,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Mayor, 
who  was  detained  at  Baddagame  by  a  severe  fever,  caught  on 
his  W3.y  down  to  meet  us  at  Galle.  1  think  there  are  few  sights 
more  impressive  than  that  of  a  Bishop  addressing  his  clergy 
from  the  altar;  and  on  this  occasion  it  was  rendered  peculiarly 
interesting  by  there  being  two  regularly  ordained  native  priests 
among  the  number,  Mr.  de  Sarum,  and  Christian  David,  both 
Colonial  Chaplains;  the  former  has  had  an  English  education, 
and  was  entered,  I  believe,  at  Cambridge;  he  married  a  young 
woman,  who  came  out  with  him,  and  who  shows  her  good  taste 
and  good  judgment  in  living  on  the  best  terms  with  his  family, 
who  are  very  respectable  people,  of  the  first  rank  in  the  island. 
The  clergy  dined  with  us  in  the  evening. 

Septeinber  2. — We  were  again  all  morning  engaged  with 
visitors.  In  the  evening,  Lady  Barnes  having  lent  me  her  fine 
English  horse,  we  rode  through  a  considerable  part  of  the  gar- 
dens. These  are  so  extensive,  and  the  roads  cut  through  them 
so  precisely  alike,  that  we  completely  lost  our  way,  and  did 
not  get  home  till  late.  There  is  neither  horse,  carriage,  pa- 
lanqueen  or  bearer  to  be  hired;  but  we  do  not  feel  the  wanty 
between  the  exertions  used  by  our  friends,  Mr.  Glenie,  now 
the  acting  archdeacon,  and  Mr.  Layard,  recently  appointed 
collector  of  this  district,  to  procure  us  bearers  in  travelling, 
and  the  liberality  with  which  Sir  Edward  Barnes  allows  us 
the  use  of  his  horses,  carriages,  and  body-guard.  He  has  a 
magnificent  stud  of  English  horses;  they  look  well,  but  are  apt 
to  die  of  inflammatory  attacks:  he  lost  one  very  fine  one  while 
we  were  in  the  island.  There  are  none  reared  in  Ceylon,  but 
those  in  general  use  come  from  the  islands  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Jaffna,  which  afford  the  best  pasture  both  for  horses 
and  cattle.  The  former  are  under  the  superintendance  of  an 
officer  and  when  old  enough  are  disposed  of  by  government. 
Those  I  have  seen  are  pretty,  but  slight;  the  oxen  too  are 
small;  but  beef  is  the  most  plentiful  as  well  as  the  best  meat 
in  Ceylon. 

Mr.  Walbeoffe,  the  manager  of  the  cinnamon  gardens,  good- 
naturedly  sent  some  of  the  cinnamon  peelers  to  our  bunga- 
lows, that  we  might  see  the  way  in  which  the  spice  is  prepar- 
ed. They  brought  with  them  branches  of  about  three  feet  in 
length,  of  which  they  scraped  off"  the  rough  bark  with  knives, 


180         JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

and  then  with  a  peculiar-shaped  instrument,  stripped  off  the 
inner  rind  in  long  slips;  these  are  tied  up  in  bundles  and  put 
to  dry  in  the  sun,  and  the  wood  is  sold  for  fuel.  In  the  re- 
gular preparation,  however,  the  outer  bark  is  not  scraped  off; 
but  the  process  of  fermentation  which  the  strips  undergo  when 
tied  up  in  large  quantities,  removes  the  coarse  parts.  The 
peelers  are  called  ''chaliers;"  they  are  a  distinct  caste,  whose 
origin  is  uncertain,  though  they  are  generally  supposed  to  be 
descended  from  a  tribe  of  weavers,  who  settled  iir  Ceylon, 
from  the  Continent,  about  six  hundred  years  ago;  in  the  inte- 
rior they  now  pursue  their  original  occupation,  but  those  in 
the  maratime  provinces  are  exclusively  employed  in  peeling 
cinnamon.  They  earn  a  great  deal  of  money  during  the  sea- 
son; but  their  caste  is  considered  very  low,  and  it  would  be  a 
degradation  for  any  other  to  follow  the  same  business. 

September  3. — This  morning  we  went  to  the  king's  house, 
where  we  spent  a  couple  of  hours  very  agreeably.  The  Bishop 
has  been  much  engaged  since  our  arrival  in  prei)aring  a  plan, 
which  he  discussed  to-day  with  Sir  E.  Barnes,  for  restoring 
the  schools,  and  the  system  of  religious  instruction  which  we 
found  established  by  the  Dutch,  and  of  uniting  it  more  closely 
with  the  Church  of  England.  At  a  very  small  annual  expense, 
this  plan  would,  he  thinks,  be  the  means  of  spreading,  not 
merely  a  nominal,  but  real  Christianity  through  the  island. 
There  is  also  another  object  which  he  has,  if  possible,  still  more 
at  heart,  which  is  giving  the  native  "proponents,"  or  cate- 
chists,  such  facilities  for  education  as  would  gradually  fit  them 
for  admittance  into  holy  orders,  and  make  them  the  ground- 
work of  a  parochial  clergy  ; — he  has  been  much  pleased  by  the 
anxiety  which  they  show  for  the  improvement  of  their  scholars, 
but  they  have  not  the  means  of  acquiring  knowledge  sufficient 
to  enable  them  to  teach  others,  and  are  many  of  them  ill  in- 
formed, though  very  good  men.  Books  are  scarce  in  Cinga- 
lese and  Tamul,  and  he  is  anxious  to  prevail  on  some  of  the 
colonial  clergy  to  translate  a  few  of  the  more  popular  works 
into  these  languages.  In  these  and  in  various  other  sugges- 
tions which  he  has  made  to  both  chaplains  and  missionaries, 
he  has,  almost  universally,  met  with  the  readiest  concurrence; 
and  he  has  often  expressed  to  me  the  extreme  gratification 
which  he  has  derived  since  we  have  been  here,  from  witness- 
ing the  exemplary  conduct  of  the  whole  Church  Establishment, 
and  the  readiness  with  which  they  have  entered  into  his  views. 
While  he  was  conversing  on  these  subjects  with  the  Governor, 
Lady  Barnes  took  me  to  see  her  museum,  and  I  was  much 
interested  in  looking  over  her  collection  of  shells  and  other 
Ceylon  curiosities. 

/Sept.  3, — The  Bishop  preached  this  morning  at  St.  Tho» 


JOURNAL  or  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  181 

mas'S ;  the  church  was  very  full,  and  as  it  has  no  punkas,  the 
heat  was  great.  It  is  a  remarkable  ugly  inconvenient  build- 
ing ;  indeed,  it  was  not  originally  intended  as  a  church  by  the 
Dutch,  and  the  colony  is  too  poor  to  build  another.  There  is 
a  mural  tablet  in  it  to  Bishop  Middleton,  who  was  here  at  two 
different  periods. 

Sept.  4. — All  morning,  as  usual,  the  Bishop  was  occupied 
in  discussing  ecclesiastical  matters  with  Mr.  Robinson  and  Mr. 
Glenie,  and  I  returned  a  few  visits.     In  the  evening  we  rode 
through  the  fort,  and  the  principal  streets  of  Colombo,  as  well 
as  through  the  Pettah,  or  native  town.     The  fort  is  on  a  penin- 
sula, projecting  into  the  sea,  and  is  very  extensive,  surround- 
ed with  a  broad  deep  ditch;  near  the  glacis  is  the  end  of  a 
large  lake,   which  extends  some  miles  into  the  interior,  and 
which  might,  in  case  of  necessity,  be  easily  connected  with  the 
sea,  so  as  completely  to  insulate  the  fort.     In  the  middle  of 
this  lake  is  an  island,  called  by  the  Dutch  ''Slave  Island;" 
there  are  several  pretty  houses  on  it,  and  a  regiment  of  sepoys 
is  now  stationed  there ;  the  town  is  handsome,  and  nearly 
divided  into  four  parts  by  two  broad  streets ;  there  are  many 
Dutch  houses,  which   may  be  distinguished  from  those  of  the 
English  by  their  glass  windows,  instead  of  Venetians,  for  the 
Dutch  seem  to  shut  up  their  houses  at  all  seasons  ;  they  have 
large  verandahs  to  the  south.     The  Pettah  is  very  extensive 
and  populous;  the  inhabitants,  it  is  said,  amount  to  between 
50  and  60,000,  of  a  very  mixed  race.     We  passed  the  Dutch 
and  Portuguese  churches,  both  pretty  buildings,  especially  the 
former ;  the  latter  is  dedicated  to  the  Mater  Dolorosa.     The 
houses  of  the  Europeans  without  the  town  are  very  beautiful- 
ly situated,  especially  those  near  the  sea  ;  they  are  all,  with 
one  or  two  exceptions,  lower-roomed  houses,  and  built  on  the 
same  plan  as  those  of  Bombay,  having  the  same  disadvantage 
of  projecting  low-roofed  verandahs,   which  keep  out  the  air. 
The  floors  are  almost  universally  of  brick,  very  unsightly,  and 
disagreeable   from  the  dust  which   they  occasion  ;  but  this 
is  unavoidable  in  an  island  where  no  chunam  is  made  but  by 
a  most  expensive  process,  from  shells,  and  where  the  white 
ants  immediately  destroy  timber.     There  seems  to  be  little 
traffic  carried  on  except  in  cinnamon  and  pepper ;  the  coir 
rope  is  made  in  great  quantities ;  indeed,  the  coco-nut  tree, 
in  its  various  productions  of  arrack,  oil,  &c.  &c.  seems  to  be 
the  principal  support  of  the  natives.     No  muslins  are  manu- 
factured, and  only  the  common  strong  coarse  cloth,  woven 
^  by  the  natives,  is  wove  in  the  island.     Of  this  I  had  a  good 
deal  given  me  by  some  of  the  Malay  inhabitants. 

September  6, — Earlv  this  morning  the  Bishop  went  to  Cotta, 
a  church  missionary  station,  about  six,  miles  from  Colombo. 


182  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

Mr.  Lambrick,  whom  I  remember  tutor,  some  years  ago,  in 
Lord  Combermere's  family,  is  at  present  sole  missionary  there, 
and  performs  the  important  duties  of  the  station  in  a  most  ex- 
emplary manner;  the  number  of  inhabitants  in  the  district  is 
very  great;  there  are  eight  schools  in  the  village,  containing 
near  200  children,  of  whom  a  few  are  girls,  besides  several  in 
the  adjoining  hamlets ;  and  he  has  two  services  every  Sunday 
in  English  and  Cingalese,  as  well  as  occasional  weekly  duty 
in  the  schools  ;  there  is  no  church. 

The  society  sent  out  a  press  a  few  years  ago,  which  is  now 
in  active  use.  Several  Cingalese  grammars  and  vocabularies, 
and  some  tracts,  have  been  printed  in  it,  and  Mr.  Lambrick 
is  now  engaged  in  a  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
Gospels,  part  of  which  is  printed.  The  language  is  not  well 
suited  to  the  dignity  and  simplicity  of  the  Bible,  as  it  is  bur- 
dened with  honorary  affixes,  used  as  well  in  the  Buddhist  re- 
ligious books,  as  in  the  common  intercourse  of  the  natives  with 
their  superiors,  and  which  have  hitherto  been  admitted  into 
our  translations  of  the  Scriptures.  Such  a  word  as  "  AVahan- 
seghede"  affixed  to  the  names  of  the  Divine  Persons,  is  cer- 
tainly very  cumbersome;  and  Mr.  Lambrick  is  anxious  to  be 
allowed  to  discontinue  their  common  use  in  a  revision  of  the 
translation  of  the  Scriptures,  in  which  he  has  been  invited  to 
join  by  the  Colombo  Auxiliary  Bible  Society. 

While  the  Bishop  was  at  Cotta,  Mr.  Lambrick  read  him  an 
address  in  the  name  of  all  the  missionaries,  in  which,  besides 
giving  him  an  account  of  their  respective  stations,  they  asked 
his  advice  on  several  important  points,  of  which  the  principal 
related  to  prayer  meetings  at  each  other's  houses,  and  to  the 
baptism  of  native  children.  He  answered  these  questions 
generally  at  the  time,  and  afterwards  wrote  them  a  letter,  in 
which  he  entered  more  at  length  on  the  different  subjects  pro- 
posed. * 

Colombo,  Sept.  13,  1825. 

*  My  Reverend  Brethren, 

Having-  been  consulted  by  you,  and  the  other  Clerg-y  of  this  Arch- 
deaconry, on  the  propriety  of  engaging  with  missionaries  of  other  reh- 
gious  sects,  in  solemn  conference  on  topics  connected  with  your  work 
among"  the  heathen,  such  as  are  now  statedly  holden  at  Jaffna,  and  at 
this  place,  I  have  first  to  express  my  thankfulness  to  God  for  the 
brotherly  and  tolerant  spirit  which,  since  my  arrival  in  the  island,  I 
have  noticed  among  those,  who,  with  less  or  greater  diff'erences  of 
opinions,  and  discrepancies  of  doctrine  and  discipline,  abundantly  to 
be  deplored,  yet  hold,  as  I  am  persuaded,  the  same  faith  in  the  cross, 
and  shall  be  found,  as  I  trust,  in  the  last  day,  on  the  same  Rock  of  Sal- 
vation. Nor  am  I  less  thankful  to  the  Giver  of  all  good  things,  for  the 
affectionate  and  orderly  spirit  which  I  find  in  you,  my  brethren,  and 
which  has  led  you,  voluntarily,  to  submit  a  question  in  which  your 


JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  183 

On  his  return  liome  he  told  me  he  had  been  particularly 
gratified  with  all  vvhicii  he  had  seen  that  morning.  The  sta- 
tion has  been  scarcely  three  years  established. 

hearts,  as  I  have  I'eason  to  believe,  are  much  engaged,  to  the  counsel 
of  your  Ordinary.  May  God  continue  and  increase  this  mutual  confi- 
dence between  us,  and  conduct  it,  and  all  things  else,  to  His  glory, 
and  our  salvation  1 

The  meeting  in  question  has  been  described  to  me  as  a  conference 
of  ministers  and  missionai'ies,  in  a  certain  district,  held  in  each  other's 
house  in  rotation,  attended  by  the  ministers  or  missionaries  themselves, 
their  wives  and  families,  and  occasionally  by  devout  laymen  from  their 
vicinity.  These  meetings  are  described  as  beginning  and  ending  with 
prayer,  led,  indifferently,  by  ministers  of  different  sects,  or  by  their 
lay  friends,  but  not  by  the  females,  and  as  broken  by  hymns,  in  which 
all  present  join.  The  remainder  of  the  time  is  occupied  by  a  friendly 
iT\eal  together, — in  the  comparison,  by  the  missionaries,  of  the  different 
encouragements  and  obstacles  which  they  meet  with  among  the  hea- 
then, and  in  discussion  of  the  best  means  by  which  their  common  work 
can  be  forwarded.  It  appears  that  this  practice  commenced  at  Jafiha, 
under  cu'cumstances  which  made  it  very  desirable  for  the  missionaries 
of  the  English  Church,  not  only  to  live  on  friendly  and  courteous  terms 
with  the  missionai'ies  sent  from  America,  but  to  profit  by  the  experi- 
ence and  example  of  these  missionaries  in  their  manner  of  addressing 
the  heathen.  And  it  appears,  also,  that  these  conferences  have  been 
strictly  private  and  domestic,  and  that  there  has  been  no  interchange 
or  confusion  of  the  public  or  appropriate  functions  of  the  Christian 
ministry,  between  yourselves  and  the  friends  who,  unhappily,  differ 
from  you  in  points  of  Church  discipline.  Under  such  circumstances  it 
is  probable,  that,  by  God's  blessing,  many  advantages  may  have  arisen 
to  you  all  from  these  conferences;  and,  without  inquiring  whether  these 
advantages  might  have  been,  in  the  first  instance,  attainable,  in  a  man- 
ner less  hable  to  inconvenience  or  misrepresentation,  I  am  happy  that 
I  do  not  think  it  necessary  to  advise  their  cessation,  now  they  are  esta- 
blished, and  that  your  dereliction  of  them  might  greatl}^  interrupt  the 
-charitable  terms  on  which  you  now  live  with  your  neighbours. 

There  are,  however,  some  senous  dangers  to  which  such  meetings 
are  liable,  against  which  it  is  my  duty  to  caution  you,  aird  by  avoiding 
which  you  may  keep  your  intercoui'se  with  your  fellow-labourers,  as 
now,  always  harmless  and  unblamed.  The  first  of  these  is  the  risk  of 
levelling,  in  the  eyes  of  others,  and  even  in  your  own,  the  peculiar 
•claims  to  attention  on  the  part  of  men,  and  the  peculiar  hopes  of  grace 
and  blessing  from  the  Most  High,  which,  as  we  believe,  are  possessed 
by  the  holders  of  an  apostolic  commission  over  those  whose  calls  to  the 
ministry  is  less  regular,  though  their  labours  are  no  less  sincere.  God 
forbid,  my  brethren,  that  I  should  teach  you  to  think  on  this  account 
highly  of  yourselves!  Far  otherwise.  This  sense  of  the  advantages 
'  which  we  enjoy  should  humble  us  to  the  dust,  when  we  bethink  us 
I  who  we  are,  and  what  we  ought  to  be,  who  have  received  the  Spirit 
of  God  by  the  dispensation  of  a  long  line  of  saints  and  martyrs, — who 
-«re  called  to  follow  the  steps  of  Ridley,  Hooper,  Latimer,  Rowland 
Taylor,  and  Henry  Martyn;  and  who  are,  by  the  external  dispensation, 
at  least,  of  Providence,  the  inheritors  of  that  grace  which  fell  on  St. 
Paul.  But,  humbly,  yea  meanly,  as  wc  are  bound  to  think  of  ourselves, 
Vol,    11.—]  6 


184  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

September  11. — The  Bishop  preached  at  St.  Thomas's  on 
behalf  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  but 

we  must  not  appear  to  undervalue  our  apostolic  bond  of  union;  and  the 
more  so  here  in  India,  inasmuch  as  it  is  the  great  link  which  binds  us 
to  the  ancient  Syrian  Church,  and  one  pi'incipal  means  whereby  we 
hope,  with  the  blessing  of  our  Master,  to  efFect  its  gi'adual  reformation. 
The  neglect,  or  abandonment,  or  apparent  abandonment,  of  this  prin- 
ciple, is  the  first  danger  which  I  apprehend  to  be  incidental  to  such 
meetings  as  I  have  described.  To  guard  against  it,  an  additional  care 
and  caution  will  be  desirable,  in  your  steady  adherence,  wherever  this 
is  practicable,  to  the  external  cerennonies  and  canonical  observations 
of  our  Church;  and,  without  estranging  yourselves  from  your  dissent- 
ing friends,  by  cultivating  a  yet  closer  union  with  those  who  are,  pro- 
perly speaking,  your  brother  clergy.  With  this  view  I  would  recommend 
not  only  the  measures  which  I  have  lately  suggested,  of  frequent  meet- 
ings of  the  clergy  of  this  Archdeaconry  for  the  purposes  of  mutual 
counsel  and  comfort,  but  a  readiness  on  your  part,  who  are  Mission- 
aries, to  ofHciate,  whenever  you  are  invited,  and  can  do  it  without 
neglect  of  your  peculiar  functions,  in  the  churches  of  the  colony,  and 
in  rendering  assistance  to  the  Chaplains.  By  this  occasional  attention, 
(for,  for  many  reasons  I  would  have  it  occasional  only,)  to  the  spiritual 
wants  of  your  own  countrymen,  several  important  ends  will  be  obtained; 
you  will  yourselves  derive  advantage  from  keeping  up  the  habit  of 
English  composition  and  public  speaking;  you  will  endear  yourselves 
to  your  brethren  and  countrymen  by  the  services  which  you  will  render 
them,  and  above  all,  you  will  identify  yourselves  in  the  eyes  of  all  men 
with  the  Established  Church,  and  distinguish  yourselves  from  those 
other  preachers  whom  that  Church  cannot  consistently  recognize. 

Another  precaution  which  occurs  to  me  as  desirable  against  the  risk 
to  which  I  have  alluded,  is  that  it  be  perfectly  understood  that  the 
meetings  are  for  the  discussion  of  such  topics  only,  as  belong  to  your 
distinct  functions  as  missionaries  to  the  heathen.  For  this  reason  I 
would  recommend  that  the  meetings  be  confined  to  missionaries  only, 
with  their  families,  and  such  devout  laymen,  (for  I  am  unwilling  to 
damp,  or  seem  to  discountenance,  their  laudable  zeal,)  who  have  al- 
ready joined  themselves  to  your  number.  The  other  Clergy  of  the 
Archdeaconry  will  find,  I  conceive,  a  sufficient  bond  of  union  and 
source  of  mutual  comfort  and  advice  in  the  clerical  meeting.  There  are 
other  inconveniencies  and  improprieties  incidental  to  what  are  usually 
called  prayer-meetings,  which  have  led  to  their  rejection  by  the  great 
majority  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  among  the  rest,  by  some  ex- 
cellent men,  whom  the  conduct  pursued  by  those  with  whom  their 
chief  intimacy  lay,  would  have  natm-ally  inclined  to  favour  them.  I 
mean,  among  others,  the  late  Mr.  Scott  of  Aston  Sandford,  and  the 
late  Mr.  Robinson  of  St.  Mary's,  Leicester.  Such  is  the  practice  re- 
probated by  the  Apostle,  of  a  number  of  persons  coming  together, 
with  each  his  psalm,  his  prayer,  his  exhortation;  the  eifect  of  which  is, 
not  only,  often  confusion,  but  what  is  worse  than  confusion,  self-con- 
ceit and  rivalry,  each  labouring  to  excel  his  brother  in  the  choice  of 
his  expressions  and  the  outward  earnestness  of  his  address — and  the 
bad  effects  of  emulation  mixing  with  actions,  in  wdiich  of  all  others, 
humility  and  forgetfulness  of  self  are  necessary.  Such,  too,  is  that 
warmth  of  feeling  and  language,  derived  rather  from  imitation  than 


JOURNAL  OP  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  185 

more  particularly  with  reference  to  the  Bishop's  College  at 
Calcutta;  previous  to  this   he  went  to  hear  the  Tamul  ser- 

conviction,  which  under  the  circumstances  which  I  have  mentioned, 
are  apt  to  degenerate  into  enthusiastic  excitement  or  irreverent  famili- 
arity. 

And  thoug'h  it  is  only  due  both  to  yourselves,  my  brethren,  and  to 
your  dissenting  fellow-labourers,  to  state  that  all  wliich  I  have  seen  or 
heard  of  you  sets  me  at  ease  on  these  subjects,  so  far  as  you  are  con- 
cerned, yet  it  will  be  well  for  you  to  take  care,  lest  by  setting-  an  example 
of  such  an  institution  in  your  own  persons,  you  encourage  less  instruct- 
ed individuals  among  the  laity  to  adopt  a  practice  which,  in  their  case, 
has  almost  always,  I  believe,  been  injurious.  It  is  on  this  account, 
cliiefly,  that  with  no  feelings  of  disrespect  or  suspicion  towards  tlie  ex- 
cellent laymen  wlio,  as  I  understand,  have  joined  your  society,  I  would 
recommend,  if  my  counsel  has  any  weight,  (and  I  offer  it  as  my  counsel 
only,)  that,  though  there  is  no  impropriety  in  their  taking  their  turns  in. 
reading  the  Scriptures,  and  mingling  in  the  discussions  which  arise  on 
the  subjects  connected  with  your  conference,  they  would  abstain  fromi 
leading  the  society  in  prayer,  except  when  the  meeting  is  held  in  one 
of  their  own  houses,  and  when,  as  master  of  the  family,  they  may  con- 
sistently offer  up  what  will  then  be  \he\T  family  devotion. 

I  would,  lastly,  recommend  to  you  earnestly,  that  both  your  discus- 
sions and  your  prayers,  have  as  their  leading  object,  the  success  of  mis- 
sions, and  the  means  whereby  missions  may,  with  God's  blessing,  be 
rendered  successful;  and  that  you  would  deviate  as  little  as  possible 
into  other  fields  of  ecclesiastical  enquiry. 

With  these  precautions,  I  trust  that  unmingled  good  may,  through 
His  blessing  who  is  the  God  of  peace  and  order,  emanate  from  your  re- 
ligious conferences. 

With  reference  to  the  employment  of  laymen  to  officiate  in  your  con- 
.gregation,  I  would  say  that  where  a  missionary  is  as  yet  unable  to  read 
prayers,  or  preach  in  the  language  of  his  hearers,  he  may  unquestion- 
ably employ  a  native  assistant  to  do  both,  provided  the  prayers  are  those 
of  our  Church,  and  the  discourse  a  translation  fi'om  his  own  dictation  or 
writing.  The  use  of  interpreters  is  not  only  sanctioned  by  the  necessity 
of  the  case,  but  by  the  express  authority  of  Scripture  and  Ecclesiasti- 
cal History.  And  even  where  this  necessity  has  not  existed,  but  where 
any  convenience  has  been  obtained  either  by  priest  or  people,  it  has 
been  always  the  custom  of  the  Church  to  admit  lay-catechists,  (under 
the  direction  of  the  Minister,)  to  read  the  Scriptures,  to  give  out  Psalms, 
to  repeat  the  Creeds,  and  even  when  any  convenience  results  from  it, 
the  Litany  down  to  the  Lord's  Prayer,  and  the  following  Collects  which 
the  Rubric  assigns  to  the  Priest.  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe,  that, 
both  in  this  and  the  preceding  case,  the  Absolution  must  not  be  read, 
nor  must  the  Sacraments  be  administered,  by  any  but  the  regularly  or- 
dained Minister. 

To  your  questions  respecting  Baptism,  I  reply, 
1st,  We  are  not,  as  I  conceive,  allowed  to  baptize  the  infant  child  of 
heathen  parents  when  there  is  reason  to  fear  that  such  child  will  be 
brought  up  in  heathenism. 

2nd,  We  may  not  even  baptize  the  infant  child  of  heathen  parents  on 
the  promise  of  such  parents  to  procure  for  it  a  Christian  education,  un- 
less security  of  some  kind  is  actually  given  fqr  its  adoption,  and  re- 


1S6  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

vice  in  the  Portuguese  church,  and  I  accompanied  him,  be- 
tween the  English  services,  to  the  Cingalese  church,  in  both 

moval  ft'om  its  parents'  coiTupt  example,  by  its  sponsor,  or  some  other 
Christian. 

3rd,  We  may,  I  apprehend,  baptize  the  children  of  a  Christian  father 
by  a  heathen  mother,  thoug-h  they  are  living  tog-ether  unmarried,  pro- 
vided the  father  declai-es  his  intention  of  g-iving-  his  child  a  Christian 
education,  and  there  are  sufficient  sponsors  to  add  their  promises  to 
that  of  the  parent.  My  reason  for  this  decision  is,  that,  as  no  professed 
Christian,  however  wicked  his  life,  is  beyond  the  outward  means  of 
grace,  and  the  Lord  may,  for  all  we  know,  have  still  merciful  purposes 
concerning"  him,  so  we  cannot  for  the  father's  sin  exclude  the  child 
from  that  promise  which  is  made  to  the  children,  and  the  children's 
children  of  behevers.  But  where  the  mother  is  Christian,  and  not  the 
father,  it  is  doubtful  whether  she  may  have  sufficient  property  in,  or 
authority  over  her  child,  to  ensure  it  a  Christian  bring-ing"  up.  Nor  is 
it  a  point  on  which  the  promise  of  a  heathen  father  can  be  received  as 
sufficient;  its  actual  adoption,  therefore,  by  some  Christian  friend  or 
sponsor,  must  in  this  last  case  be  stipulated  for. 

4th,  The  same  principle  appears  to  apply  to  cases  when  one  only  of 
a  married  couple  is  a  professing  Christian;  though  here  some  latitude 
of  discretion  may  be  allowed,  in  eases  of  danger  of  death,  of  extreme 
mental  solicitude,  of  known  good  character  on  the  believing  mother's 
side,  and  the  known  probability  that  may  exist,  that  her  wishes,  and 
the  endeavours  of  the  sponsors,  will  not  be  frustrated  in  her  infant's  • 
education. 

5th,  The  case  of  nominal  Christians  notoriously  addicted  to  heathen 
practices  must  depend,  in  part,  on  the  nature  and  extent  uf  the  evil, 
and  still  more  on  the  character  and  sufficiency  of  the  sponsors.  Mere 
idolatrous  or  superstitious  habits  in  the  parents,  if  not  attended  with 
open  apostacy,  cannot  exclude  the  infant  when  properly  vouched  for 
from  another  quarter.  The  parent,  however  blinded  and  sinful,  has- 
not  lost  the  external  privileges  of  Christianity,  and  the  infant  cannot 
be  deprived  of  a  privilege  which  the  parent  has  not  forfeited. 

6th,  The  same  rule  will  apply  yet  more  strongly  to  Christians  of  whom 
we  know  no  further  harm,  than  their  ignorance  and  neglect  of  public 
worship. 

7th,  It  will  have  been  already  seen  that  we  have  no  right  to  refuse 
baptism  to  children  actually  adopted  by  Christians,  provided  those  or 
other  Christians  become  their  securities. 

8th,  With  regard  to  tlie  case  of  children  thus  adopted  when  past  the 
age  of  six  yeai's,  and  on  the  marks  of  conversion  which  may  then  be  re- 
quired in  them,  it  appears  that  at  this  age  a  child  who  has  not  from  its 
earliest  infancy,  enjoyed  a  Christian  education  can  seldom  know  much 
of  Christianity.  Such  may  be  admitted  as  infants,  with  proper  spon- 
sors, and  it  may  very  often  be  desirable  thus  to  admit  them.  It  is  not 
easy  to  fix  an  age  at  which  infancy  ceases,  which  must  depend  on  in- 
tellect, opportunity,  and  many  other  considerations.  In  "  subjects  ca- 
pace,"  conversion  is  doubtless  required;  and  where  capacity  may  be  J 
soon  expected,  it  is  generally  desirable  to  wait.  But  in  cases  of  sick-  1 
ness,  or  where  any  good  or  charitable  end  is  answered  by  the  immedi- 
ate baptism  of  such  children,  and  where,  as  before,  sufficient  securities 
are  present,  it  appears  that  we  are  not  warranted  in  denying  them  God's 
ordinance. 


JOURNAL  or  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  187 

which  he  pronounced  the  benediction  in  the  respective  lan- 
guages. The  Dutch  church,  in  which  the  Cingalese  service  is 
performed,  is  very  handsome  internally  as  well  as  externally. 
The  language  is  not  a  pleasant  one;  it  is  read  in  a  recitative  tone, 
and  the  use  of  the  affixes  which  I  have  mentioned,  added  to  its 
being  in  itself  a  voluminous  language,  made  the  service  ex- 
tremely long.  The  congregation  wa's  not  numerous:  for  some 
reason,  the  church  had  been  shut  up  for  a  few  weeks,  and  the 
notice  given  was  too  short  to  allow  of  a  larger  number  being 
assembled.  It  was  composed  principally  of  the  Moodeliers  of 
Colombo,  the  children  of  a  small  school,  some  of  the  lower 
classes,  and  four  or  five  very  pretty  girls,  evidently  of  good 
families.  Their  dress  in  shape  resembled  that  worn  by  the 
Portuguese  Christians  in  Calcutta;  but  the  petticoat  and  loose 
body  were  made  of  the  finest  muslin  and  silk,  trimmed  with 
lace,  while  their  long  black  hair  was  turned  up  a  la  Grecque, 
and  fastened  with  gold  ornaments.  The  Ayahs  who  attended 
them  had  ornaments  of  similar  shapes,  but  made  of  silver  or 
tortoise-shell.     These  girls  amused  themselves,  during  the 

9th,  The  church  of  IJome,  though  grievously  corrupted,  is  never- 
theless a  part  of  the  visible  church  of  Christ;  we  may  not  therefore  re- 
pel the  children  of  such  parents  from  baptism,  if  they  are  vouched  for 
by  their  sponsors  in  tlie  words  of  our  service;  whicli  it  may  be  noticed 
are  wisely  so  framed  as  to  contain  nothing  but  those  points  on  which 
all  Christians  are  engaged.  The  direction  at  the  end  to  teach  our  church 
Catechism,  is  a  counsel  from  us  to  the  sponsors,  no  engagement  entered 
into  by  them.  It  follows,  that  we  are  not  to  refuse  baptism  to  the 
children  of  Roman  Catholic  parents,  with  sufficient  Protestant  spon- 
sors; I  even  doubt  whether  we  are  at  liberty  even  with  sponsors  of  their 
parents'  sect. 

But  in  all  these  questions  I  cannot-forbear  observing,  that  we  may  re- 
mark the  wisdom  of  that  primitive  institution,  (which  our  Church  has 
wisely  retained,)  of  godfathers  and  godmothers,  as  affording  away  of 
receiving  into  the  flock  of  Christ,  those  children  for  whose  education 
their  own  parents  cannot  satisfactorily  answer.  An  ignorant  or  immoral 
father  may  be  himself,  for  the  present  irreclaimable;  but  we  may  al- 
ways insist  that  the  sureties  whom  he  adduces  should  be  competently 
informed,  and  of  a  life  not  openly  immoral.  And  though  the  decay  of 
I  discipline  in  our  own  country  has  gi'ievously  impaired  the  value  of  such 
sponsors,  yet  a  missionary  among  the  heathen  both  may  and  ought  in 
this  respect  to  exercise  a  sound  discretion,  both  examining  with  mild- 
ness, informing  with  patience,  and  with  firmness  and  temper  deciding 
on  the  knowledge,  faith,  and  holiness  of  those  who  themselves  under- 
take to  be  the  guides  of  the  blind,  and  to  sow  the  seeds  of  knowledge, 
holiness,  and  faith  in  the  hearts  of  the  young  candidates  for  salvation. 

That  God,  my  reverend  brethren,  may  increase  and  strengthen  you 
in  these  and  all  other  gifts  of  his  Spirit  through  his  Son,  and  that  both 
here  and  hereafter  his  blessings  may  largely  follow  your  labours,  is  the 
prayer  of 

Your  affectionate  Friend  and  Servant, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 
16* 


188  JOtTRNAL  OF  A  TOUIl  IN  CEYLON. 

greater  part  of  the  service,  bj  playing  with  their  rings,  and 
beckoning  to  their  attendants  either  to  talk  to  them,  to  re- 
arrange some  part  of  their  dress  or  to  pick  up  their  rings  when 
they  fell,  quite  unchecked  by  a  respectable  old  governante  who 
was  with  them,  and  who,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  congrega- 
tion appeared  very  devout  and  attentive. 

September  12.— The  Bishop  attended  a  meeting  in  Colom- 
bo for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  new  committee  of  the  So- 
ciety for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel;  and  we  afterwards 
dined  at  the  king's  house.  Mr.  Glenie  has  very  kindly  given 
us  the  use  of  a  pretty  little  open  carriage  of  his  ow^n  inven- 
tion, in  which  we  make  many  excursions;  we  have  also  the 
daily  use  of  the  Governor's  saddle-horses,  and  Emily  has  a 
quiet  poney  for  her  riding. 

September  12. — The  Bishop  held  a  confirmation,  which  was 
very  numerously  attended  both  by  natives  and  Europeans;  un- 
fortunately, I  was  too  unwell  to  attend  it,  or  to  join  the  clergy 
who  dined  with  us  afterwards;  but  he  was  much  pleased  with 
the  number,  appearance,  and  behaviour  of  the  candidates;  the 
Malay  girls  in  their  long  flowing  white  veils,  formed  a  parti- 
cularly interesting  groupe,  and  they  all  seemed  much  im- 
pressed with  the  ceremony. 

September  14. — We  set  out  at  four  o'clock  this  morning  on 
an  excursion  to  Candy,  leaving  Emily,  by  Dr.  Farrel's  advice, 
at  St.  Sebastian,  (the  name  of  our  bungalow,)  the  country 
through  which  we  were  to  travel  being  at  all  times  of  the  year 
rather  unfavourable  to  delicate  constitutions.  Sir  Edward 
Barnes  drove  the  Bishop  in  his  bandy,  Mr.  Robinson  and  I 
went  in  a  palanqueen  carriage,  and  we  were  accompanied  by 
Captains  Hamilton  and  Dawson,  the  Governor's  aids-de-camp, 
Messrs.  Glenie,  Wilmot  and  Layard,  either  in  bandies  or  on 
horseback.  About  five  miles  from  Colombo  we  crossed  a 
bridge  of  boats  over  the  river,  which  is  herQ  of  some  width; 
this  bridge,  as  well  as  the  various  rest-houses  and  the  whole 
line  of  road,  was  ornamented  with  palm  branches,  fruit, 
flowers,  &c.  in  the  same  manner  as  I  have  before  described. 
The  country,  for  about  twenty-five  miles  is  flat  and  cultivat- 
ed, but  the  parts  immediately  adjoining  the  road  are  covered 
with  a  mass  of  trees  and  shrubs,  through  which  we  could  only 
have  an  occasional  view;  the  richness  of  the  verdure,  the  va- 
riety of  foliage,  and  the  brilliancy  of  flowers,  however,  amply 
made  up  for  the  want  of  a  more  extensive  prospect.  At  a  rest- 
house  called  Vean-godde,  we  breakfasted,— -it  is  an  upper- 
roomed  bungalow,  with  a  deep  verandah  all  round,  and  though 
merely  composed  of  palm-branches  and  leaves,  very  sufficient- 
ly durable.  Smaller  bungalows  were  built  round  it  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  single  men.  Here,  for  the  first  time  since  I 
left  England,   I  saw  honey  in  the  comb;  it  is  found  in  the 


JOURNAL  or  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  189 

forest  in  great  abundance,  and  is  made  by  a  small  black  bee. 
The  Moodelier  of  this  district,  Don  Solomon  Dias  Benderlee, 
had  exercised  his  ingenuity  in  ornamenting  the  large  bungalow, 
as  well  as  in  erecting  a  square  of  four  arches  in  the  road 
before  it,  in  a  more  elaborate  manner  tlian  usual.  The  effect 
was  really  beautiful.  The  Bishop  and  I  made  some  sketches, 
and  as  we  wished  to  have  a  distant  view  of  the  place,  a  shed 
was  actually  built  for  us,  and  a  road  cut  through  the  jungle  to 
it  in  less  than  half  an  hour.  The  celerity  with  which  tliese 
palm  buildings  are  erected  is  quite  extraordinary;  for  our 
present  purpose,  it  was  merely  a  roof  of  leaves  on  four  posts; 
but  it  is  the  custom  in  travelling  to  give  notice  to  the  different 
Moodeliers,  whose  business  it  is  to  have  bungalows  built, 
which  answer  extremely  well  for  a  temporary  lodging,  though 
of  course  in  the  rains  they  soon  fall  to  pieces,  so  cheap  is  la- 
bour in  this  island,  and  so  ingenious  are  the  natives  in  such 
kinds  of  work.  On  leaving  Vean-godde  the  country  rises 
gradually,  and  becomes  more  and  more  beautiful  every  mile; 
the  hills  in  the  interior  are  steep  and  lofty,  and  covered  with 
verdure  to  their  very  summits.  I  more  than  once  fmcied  they 
were  crowned  with  ruins,  from  the  singular  effect  produced 
by  parasitical  plants,  which  grow  in  the  wildest  luxuriance, 
flinging  their  branches  from  one  tree  to  another,  each  of  which 
they  in  turn  destroy,  till  they  form  themselves  into  the  shapes 
of  arches,  towers,  and  ruins  of  all  kind;  several  of  these 
creepers  had,  I  observed,  stretched  a  solitary  branch  a  dis- 
tance of  about  a  hundred  yards,  which  had  grown  to  the  size 
of  a  man's  body,  and  assumed  the  appearance  of  twisted  cords, 
but  although  near  the  ground,  was  quite  unsupported  in  its 
progress  from  the  stem  of  one  tree  to  its  neighbour.  These 
plants  add  so  much  to  the  beauty  of  the  scenery,  that  one 
easily  forgives  the  destruction  they  occasion.  From  the  midst 
of  this  verdure,  large  masses  of  rock  are  occasionally  pro- 
jected; but  it  is  quite  impossible  to  describe  the  scenery.  I 
was  occasionally  reminded  of  the  opening  into  the  vale  of 
Llangollen,  and  the  new  road  at  Wynnstay;  and  I  hardly 
knew  to  which  to  give  the  preference.  Here,  indeed,  we  miss 
the  Dee,  though  there  is  a  small  river  now  barely  visible, 
which  during  the  rains  increases  to  a  considerable  size,  and 
foams  and  tumbles  over  its  rocky  bed;  but  the  extent  of  the 
sam©  kind  of  country  is  much  greater;  the  hills  are  higher, 
and  the  magnificence  of  the  trees,  and  general  beauty  of  the 
foliage  and  flowers,  far  surpass  anything  in  my  native  land. 
I  looked  in  vain  for  a  wild  elephant;  these  animals  are  driven 
by  the  approach  of  man  further  into  the  interior,  and  seldom 
appear,  except  at  night,  when  it  is  reckoned  dangerous  to 
travel  without  an  escort  and  lights.     Formerly  there  was  an 


190         JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

elephant  hunt  every  year,  when  numbers  were  taken  and  pur- 
chased for  purposes  of  state  by  the  petty  Rajas  in  western  and 
central  Indian  but  since  their  power  has  ceased,  the  demand 
for  them  no  longer  exists,  and  their  numbers  increase  so  much 
as  to  be  very  destructive  to  the  rice  fields.  Elephant  shooting 
is  a  favourite  amusement  with  the  European  inhabitants,  and 
a  good  shot  will  bring  one  down  with  a  single  iron  bullet.  It 
is  however,  dangerous  to  fire  with  one  barrel  only  loaded,  as 
should  the  animal  be  wounded  it  turns  upon  its  pursuerj  and, 
unless  assistance  is  at  hand,  the  consequences  are  generally 
fatal.  In  one  instance  of  the  sort,  however,  after  the  poor 
man  had  been  tossed  to  some  distance  by  the  elephant's  trunk, 
and  had  actually  felt  the  pressure  of  its  knee  upon  his  body,^ 
some  unknown  cause  induced  it  to  change  its  mind,  and  it 
walked  oif  leaving  the  man  but  little  hurt.  An  acquaintance 
of  ours  saved  his  life  under  similar  circumstances,  by  dodging 
from  one  tree  to  another,  till  he  was  v/ithin  reach  of  help,  his 
own  native  servants,  though  with  weapons  in  their  hands,  hav- 
ing ran  away  on  seeing  his  danger.  A  herd  is  seldom  formi- 
dable unless  attacked;  but  it  is  very  dangerous  to  fall  in  with 
an  old  male  animal,  living  by  himself.  There  are  very  few  used 
in  the  island  either  for  military  purposes,  or  for  riding,  the 
expense  of  keeping  them  is  so  great;  they  are  small,  but  are 
reckoned  stronger  and  more  hardy  than  those  on  the  Continent, 
and  are  generally  better  tempered.  The  Cingalese,  indeed, 
aftect  to  say  that  their  superiority  is  acknowledged  by  all  other 
elephants,  who  salaam  to  them  as  they  pass. 

The  new  road  from  Colombo  to  Candy  has  been  recently 
opened  by  Sir  E.  Barnes,  and  indeed  is  not  yet  quite  complet- 
ed. It  is  a  noble  work,  and  has  been  executed  with  immense 
labour,  as  well  from  the  nature  of  the  country,  as  the  almost 
impenetrable  jungle  through  which  it  passes.  Captain  Daw- 
son was  three  months  in  tracing  the  line,  and  frequently  gave 
up  the  work  in  despair  ; — he  had  often  to  creep  along  the  beds 
of  torrents,  to  enable  him  to  make  any  progress  through  the 
mass  of  underwood  with  which  the  mountains  are  covered.  The 
country  is  very  unhealthy,  and  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
year  it  is  reckoned  unsafe  even  to  travel  through  it.  Before 
the  road  was  opened,  it  was  a  work  of  six  or  seven  days  to  go 
from  Colombo  to  Candy ;  it  may  now  be  done  with  ease,  hav- 
ing relays  of  horses,  in  one,  and  the  danger  of  sleeping  by  the 
way  is  avoided.  The  old  road  lay  through  the  seven  Corles, 
a  distance  of  eighty-five  miles,  through  a  tract  more  open,  but 
far  more  unhealthy.  It  is  singular  that  it  is  not  where  the 
jungle  is  thickest  that  malaria  most  prevails,  but  the  banks  of 
rivers  running  swift  and  clear  over  a  rocky  bottom,  are  more 
liable  to  fever  than  any  other  places.     In  a  valley,  near  the 


JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  191 

road  side,  I  saw  a  Cobra  Guana  ;  it  is  an  animal  of  the  lizard 
kind,  with  a  very  long  tail,  so  closely  resembling  an  alligator, 
that  I  at  first  mistook  it  for  one,  and  was  surprised  to  see  a 
herd  of  buffaloes  grazing  peacefully  round  it.  It  is  perfectly 
harmless,  but  if  attacked  will  give  a  man  a  severe  blow  with 
its  tail.  Sir  Edward  Barnes  told  me  that  its  flesh  is  reckon- 
ed a  delicacy  in  the  West  Indies. 

At  Warakapole,  about  half  way  from  Colombo,  we  were 
met  by  a  very  extraordinary  personage,  the  second  Adigar  of 
Candy,  followed  by  a  numerous  retinue,  and  preceded  by  one 
man  carrying  a  crooked  silver  rod,  and  by  another  with  a  long 
whip,  which  he  cracked  at  times  with  great  vehemence  :  this 
is  considered  a  mark  of  dignity  among  the  Candians.  There 
are  two  "  Adigars,"or  ministers,  the  first  of  whom  is  entitled 
to  have  nine,  and  the  second  seven,  of  these  whips  cracked 
before  him  whenever  he  goes  out ;  but  since  our  conquest  of 
their  province  their  dignity  has  diminished,  and  they  can  no 
longer  afford  so  many  noisy  attributes  of  rank.  This  man  was 
very  handsomely  dressed,  but  his  costume  certainly  the  most 
extraordinary  I  ever  saw  ;  his  turban,  for  here  men  begin  to 
cover  their  heads,  was  richly  ornamented  with  gold,  intended 
to  resemble  a  crown,  but  far  more  like  an  old  toilette  pin- 
cushion, a  white  muslin  body,  with  immense  sleeves,  like 
wings,  ornamented  with  gold  buttons,  a  drapery  of  gold-flow- 
ered muslin,  abroad  gold  band  round  his  waist,  and,  as  rank 
is  here  marked  by  the  quantity  as  well  as  quality  of  their  dress, 
he  wore  the  finest  muslin,  swelled  out  round  the  hips  by  six  or  se- 
ven topettees,  put  on  one  above  the  other,  which  increased  them 
to  an  immense  circumference,  while  his  hands  were  covered 
with  rings  of  rubies,  set  in  a  circle  of  more  than  two  inches 
in  diameter.  Sir  Edward  Barnes  and  the  Bishop  got  out  to 
meet  him,  and  shook  him  by  both  hands,  and  the  former  then 
brought  him  to  me  for  the  same  ceremony.  He  was  carried 
in  a  dhoolie,  richly  ornamented,  and  followed  us  to  Ootian 
Candy,  where  we  dined  and  slept. 

For  the  latter  part  of  the  way  we  had  to  ascend  a  steep 
hill  amid  mountain  scenery  of  great  magnificence;  the  rocks 
on  the  summits  of  the  highest  had  all  the  appearance  of  for- 
tresses, and  the  deception  was,  in  one  instance,  singularly 
heightened  by  the  circumstance  of  one  of  the  creepers  1  men- 
tioned having  thrown  itself  across  a  chasm  just  below  the 
walls  of  the  imaginary  fortress,  like  a  drawbridge.  The 
valleys  between  the  hills  are  cultivated  with  rice;  and  indeed 
it  is  in  these  mountainous  regions,  I  am  told,  that  the  great- 
est quantity  is  grown,  on  account  of  the  facilities  they  afford 
for  irrigation.  The  fields  in  which  it  is  sown  are  dammed 
up,  and  form  a  succession  of  terraces,  the  plant  in  each,  per^ 


192  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

haps,  being  in  a  different  stage  of  growth.  Sometimes  the 
water  is  conveyed  for  a  mile  or  two  along  the  side  of  a  moun- 
tain, and  it  is  let  off  from  one  terrace  to  another,  as  the  state 
of  the  grain  requires  it.  The  verdure  of  the  young  rice  is 
particularly  fine,  and  the  fields  are  really  a  beautiful  sight 
when  surrounded  by  and  contrasted  with  the  magnificent 
mountain  scenery.  The  island,  however,  does  not  produce 
rice  enough  for  its  own  consumption,  and  a  good  deal  is  an- 
nually imported  from  Bengal. 

I  have  observed  that  all  the  bridges  on  this  road  which  are 
finished,  are  covered  over,  and  furnished  with  benches,  form- 
ing a  kind  of  serai  for  the  foot  passenger;  a  most  humane  plan 
in  such  a  country  as  this. 

At  Ootian  Candy  we  found  several  bungalows  just  builtj 
that  allotted  to  us  consisted  of  three  good-sized  rooms,  ve- 
randahed  all  round,  but  the  night  was  hot,  and  we  got  little 
sleep. 

September  15. — The  carriages  and  horses  having  been  sent 
on  to  cross  the  river  on  rafts,  we  followed  at  a  very  early 
hour  in  palanqueens,  and  after  passing  it,  mounted  our  horses 
to  ride  up  a  long  and  steep  pass.  The  road,  which  must 
have  been  constructed  with  immense  labour,  winds  up  the 
side  of  a  mountain  covered  with  thick  jungle  and  magnificent 
forest  trees;  among  the  latter,  the  ebony-tree,  the  iron  and 
the  thief-trees  were  pointed  out  to  usj  the  former  with  a  tall, 
black,  slender  stem  spotted  with  white;  the  iron-tree  black 
and  hard,  as  its  name  denotes;  and  the  last,  rising  with  a 
straight  white  stem  to  a  great  height,  singularly  contrasted 
with  the  deep  verdure  round  it;  it  bears  no  branches  till  the 
very  top,  when  it  throws  out  a  few  irregular  stag-shaped 
boughs.  A  great  deal  of  the  furniture  in  Ceylon  is  made  of 
ebony,  as  well  as  of  the  calamander  tree,  a  few  of  which  were 
pointed  out  to  us,  but  which  is  become  scarce  from  the  im- 
provident use  formerly  made  of  it.  The  thief-tree  is  good  for 
nothing  but  fuel.  There  were  many  other  varieties,  but  their 
native  names  have  escaped  my  memory.  These  woods  swarm 
with  monkeys  of  every  sort,  which  we  saw  and  heard  in  all 
directions.  A  small  black  monkey,  a  larger  one,  with  a  white 
face,  and  a  very  small  and  pretty  w^hite  one,  are  the  most 
common. 

From  this  part  of  the  road,  Adam's  Peak,  lying  to  the  east, 
is  visible;  it  is  the  highest  mountain  in  Ceylon,  about  800O 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  has  seldom  been  ascend- 
ed, not  so  much  from  its  height  as  from  the  difficulty  of  the 
latter  part  of  the  ascent,  which  is  quite  perpendicular;  two 
ladies,  hov/ever,  have  been  among  the  few  adventurers,  and 
got  up  by  means  of  chains  and  pullies.     The  Mussulmans 


\  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.         193 

have  a  tradition  that  Adam,  when  driven  out  of  Paradise, 
alighted  upon  the  Peak,  and  a  mark,  which  bears  a  resem- 
blance to  a  human  foot,  is  supposed  to  be  the  impression 
made  by  him  while  expiating  his  crime,  by  standing  on  one 
foot  till  his  sins  were  forgiven. 

About  two-thirds  of  the  way  up  this  pass,  called  Kadooga- 
narvon,   v/e  breakfasted  in  a  spot  of  singular  and  romantic 
beauty,  of  which  I  endeavoured  to  convey  some  idea  in  a 
sketch,  but  it  is  scenery  to  which  only  a  very  good  oil-paint- 
ing can  do  justice.     We  were  here  met  by  other  Candians, 
of  inferior  rank  to  the  Adigar,  as  denoted  by  their  inferior 
number  of  petticoats,  but  with  the  same  sort  of  costume;  one 
named  Looko  Banda  was  on  horseback,  and  accompanied  us 
the  remaining  part  of  the  way;  he  was  quite  an  eastern  dandy, 
rode  well,  and  was,  evidently,  proud  of  his  horsemanship, 
but  his  flowing  garments  were  ill  adapted  for  riding.     In  the 
days  of  the  Kings  of  Candy,  horses  were  an  appendage  to  roy- 
alty, and  none  were  found  in  their  territories  save  in  the  royal 
stables.     After  breakfast  we  remounted,  and  proceeded  to 
the  top  of  the  pass,  from  whence  the  view  towards  Candy  was 
superb;  but  the  sun  had  now  been  for  some  hours  above  the 
horizon,  and  we  were  glad  to  get  into  the  shelter  of  our 
carriages.     Three  miles  farther  we  again  crossed  a  river  in 
boats;  the  scenery  in  this  valley  had  lost  much  of  its  magnifi- 
cent character,   but  it  was  very  pretty,  dry,  comparatively 
free  from  jungle,  and  cultivated,  the  river  running  over  a 
bed  of  rock,  and  yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  deadly  spots  in  the 
neighbourhood  during  the  unhealthy  season.     Near  this  place 
are  the  botanical  gardens,  which  we  hope  to  see  on  our  return. 
On  the  opposite  bank  we  were  met  by  the  first  Adigar  in  great 
splendour,   preceded  by  the -silver  rod,   two  men  cracking 
their  whips,  and  followed  by  a  suwarree  of  elephants,  music 
and  dancers;  one  of  the  elephants  was  kept  at  a  distance, 
being  mad,  at  they  termed  it,  meaning  that  he  would  imme- 
diately attack  his  companions  if  suffered  to  come  near  them. 
A  distance  of  three  miles  brought  us  to  Candy,  surrounded 
by  woody  hills,   some  two  thousand  feet  high.     The  town  is 
larger  than  I  expected,  the  streets  broad  and  handsome,  though 
at  present  only  formed  by  native  houses.     On  this  occasion 
they  were  lined   with  plantain-trees,  bearing  fruit,  and  deco- 
rated with  flags  and  flowers,  which  gave  the  town  a  very  gay 
appearance.     We  were  met  at  its  entrance  by  the  principal 
European  inhabitants,  and  drove  up  to  a  small  cluster  of  bun- 
galows, dignified  by  the  name  of  the  "  Pavilion,"  being  the  re- 
sidence of  the  Governor.     The  principal  of  these  buildings  is 
a  remarkable  pretty  room  of  a  circular  form,  connected  with 
the  others  by  covered  walks,  now  beautifully  decorated  with 


194  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  .' 

flowers  of  various  sorts,  especially  that  of  the  areka,  a  sweet- 
scented  palm. — We  were  here  introduced  to  the  officers  of  the 
station,  and  then  went  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Sawers,  the  col- 
lector of  the  district,  who  had  asked  us  to  be  his  guests  dur- 
ing our  stay  in  Candy. 

The  town  of  Candy  is  reckoned  healthy,  as  well  as  the  coun- 
try for  about  a  mile  around  ;  beyond  which  the  Europeans  sel- 
dom extend  their  drives  5  the  river  Malavigonga  almost  sur- 
rounds it:  and  the  malaria,  as  I  have  before  observed,  is  pe- 
culiarly felt  on  the  shores  of  rivers.  I  should  think,  however, 
that  the  great  changes  in  the  temperature  must  be  unfriendly 
to  many  constitutions^  and,  indeed,  I  have  since  been  told  that 
pulmonary  complaints  are  frequent.  After  an  extremely  hot 
day,  the  night  was  so  cold  as  to  make  a  good  blanket,  and 
sleeping  with  closed  windows,  very  desirable,  and  even  then 
I  awoke  chilly.  The  house  we  were  in,  a  lower-roomed  one, 
stands  at  the  foot  of  a  hill  covered  with  jungle,  in  v.hich  I 
heard  parrots,  monkeys,  and  jungle  fowl;  it  also  abounds  with 
the  smaller  beasts  of  prey,  and  Mr.  Sawers  told  me,  that  the 
night  before  our  arrival,  he  was  awoke  by  some  animal  scratch- 
ing at  his  door,  which  he  supposed  was  a  dog,  but  the  track 
through  his  garden  in  the  morning  proved  it  to  have  been  a 
■•'  cheta,"  or  small  leopard.  The  royal  tyger  is  not  found  in 
the  island,  but  bears,  leopards,  hyaenas,  jackalls,  and  tyger- 
cats,  are  numerous,  besides  elks,  wild  hogs,  buftaloes,  deer, 
&c.  &c. ;  and  near  Jaffna,  at  the  northern  extremity,  a  large 
baboon  is  very  common  and  fearless.  An  acquaintance  of  ours 
having,  on  one  occasion,  shot  at  a  young  one,  the  mother  came 
boldly  up  and  wrested  the  gun  out  of  his  hand  without  doing 
him  any  injury.     The  ouran-outang  is  unknown. 

September  16.-— We  were  visited  by  all  the  European  socie- 
ty of  the  city,  and  by  many  of  the  Candian  chiefs  in  their  ex- 
traordinary state  dresses  ;  a  drawing  given  me  by  Looko 
Banda,  and  done  by  himself,  showing  a  good  deal  of  uncul- 
tivated genius,  represents  them  in  three  different  costumes, 
but  even  in  the  undress,  preserving  the  same  enormous  cir- 
cumference of  hip,  as  on  state  occasions.  The  Bishop  had  a 
deputation  of  the  Bhuddist  priests  to  wait  upon  him^  of  vari- 
ous ages,  and  all  dressed  in  long  yellow  robes,  their  sacred 
colour,  with  the  right  arm  and  shoulder  bare,  and  their  heads 
and  eyebrows  closely  shaven.  Not  long  ago,  these  holy  men 
would  not  enter  a  room  with  a  woman,  or  even  look  at  her  if 
they  met  by  accident  :  now,  however,  they  are  not  so  scrupu- 
lous ;  and  although  the  elder  of  the  party,  who  seemed  the 
principal,  never  turned  his  eyes  towards  me,  his  followers 
looked  at  me  over  the  round  fan,  which  they  all  carried,  with 
much  curiosity.  The  Bishop,  by  means  of  an  interpreter,  held 


i^OURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON*  i  95 

a  long  conversation  with  them,  and  ascertained  that  they  were 
of  the  same  sect  with  the  Jains,  whose  temples  he  had  fre- 
quently visited  in  various  parts  of  India,  and  which  he  had  al- 
%vays  suspected,  though  the  latter  had  denied  their  identity. 
The  senior  priest  read,  or  rather  chanted  a  few  lines  out  of  one  of 
their  sacred  books  ;  in  sound  it  is  rather  a  pleasing  language, 
but  almost  all  their  principal  words  end  in  a  burden  of  hum, 
hum,  hum,  musical  certainly,  but  excessively  tedious. 

I  have  been  much  interested  by  an  account  I  have  just  heard 
of  a  tribe  of  wild  men,  called  the  "Veddahs,"  or  hunters,  who 
live  in  the  recesses  of  the  forests  ;  they  are  found  in  various 
parts,  but  are  most  numerous  in  the  district  of  Vedahratte, 
from  whence  they  derive  their  name,  on  the  south-east  side, 
towards  Trincomalee  ;  there  are,  it  seems,  two  tribes  of  these 
people,  the  village  and  the  forest  Veddah,  but  they  profess  to 
hold  no  intercourse  with  each  other.  Those  of  the  forest  live 
entirely  by  the  chase  and  on  fruits,  and  never  cultivate  the 
ground^  they  have  no  habitations,  but  usually  sleep  under  the 
trees,  and,  when  alarmed,  climb  them  for  safety ;  they  use 
bows  and  arrows,  and  steal  up  close  to  their  game  before  they 
shoot ;  they  track  the  animal,  if  only  wounded,  by  its  blood, 
till  they  come  sufficiently  near  to  take  him  a  second  time. 
As  the  forests  abound  with  deer,  &c.,  they  live  well,  and 
some  of  caste  will  occasionally  come  down  into  the  villages  to 
barter  their  game  for  rice,  iron,  and  cloth  ;  their  language  is 
a  dialect  of  the  Cingalese ;  they  believe  in  evil  spirits,  but 
have  no  notion  of  a  God,  or  of  a  state  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments,  and  consider  it  a  matter  of  perfect  indiff'erence 
whether  they  do  evil  or  good.  The  Village  Veddahs  have 
many  traits  in  common  with  their  more  savage  brethren,  but 
they  live  in  huts,  and  cultivate  the  ground,  though  they  also 
seek  their  principal  subsistence  in  the  forests.  In  themselves 
they  are  a  peaceable  tribe,  never  commencing,  but  easily  pre- 
vailed on  to  join  in  any  insurrection,  and  during  the  Candian 
sovereignty,  were  frequently  employed  as  mercenary  troops 
in  commotions  in  the  interior.  Sir  Edward  Barnes  made  an 
attempt  to  civilize  the  wilder  tribe,  by  having  some  of  them 
brought  down  into  the  plains,  giving  them  food,  clothes,  &c. ; 
he  also  gave  prizes  for  the  best  shot  among  them  v  ith  a  bow 
and  arrow,  but  they  seldom  hit  the  mark  even  at  a  moderate 
distance  ;  their  custom  of  stealing  close  upon  their  prey  before 
they  shoot  will  account  for  this.  Although  these  men  liked 
their  treatment  so  much  as  to  be  unwilling  to  return  to  their 
forests,  no  further  good  seems  to  have  followed  from  the  ex- 
periment. 

We  took  a  very  beautiful  ride  this  evening,  setting  out  by 
the  borders  of  a  small  lake  near  the  centre  of  the  town,  which 

Vol.  II.— 17 


196  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

is  said  in  a  great  measure  to  occasion  its  salubrity;  it  was 
formed  out  of  a  morass  by  the  last  king.  A  quarter  of  an 
hour's  ride  brought  us  to  one  of  the  most  magnificent  and 
striking  views  which  I  ever  beheld;  an  immense  amphitheatre 
lay  before  us,  of  which  the  boundaries  were  lofty  mountains 
01  every  form,  covered  more  than  half  way  to  their  summits 
with  foliage;  Doomberra  Peak,  (its  native  name  is  Hoonisgi- 
rikandy,)  about  6000  feet  high,  lay  partly  buried  in  clouds; 
the  plain  beneath  us  was  like  the  most  cultivated  park  sce- 
nery, with  the  river  running  over  rocks  through  its  centre; 
the  only  thing  wanted  to  complete  the  picture,  and  which  the 
eye  sought  in  vain,  was  a  vestige  of  human  life;  nothing  but 
an  occasional  Hindoo  temple  was  to  be  seen,  in  places  M^here 
noblemen's  seats  might  well  have  stood.  Native  huts  there 
doubtless  were;  for,  besides  that  the  Candian  district  is  po- 
pulous, the  coco-palm,  of  which  a  few  clumps  were  seen, 
pointed  them  out;  villages  are  universally  marked  by  these 
trees,  which  are  not,  elsewhere,  common  in  the  province,  but 
till  one  is  close  upon  them,  the  huts  are  not  to  be  distinguish- 
ed from  the  surrounding  jungle,  so  that  the  whole  country 
looked  like  a  glorious  desert.  The  banks  of  the  river,  along 
which  we  rode  some  distance,  are  here,  as  elsewhere,  the 
most  productive  of  fever;  it  is  called  the  "Candian  fever," 
and  appears  to  be  an  intermittent,  which  arrives  at  its  height 
on  the  eleventh  day,  and  like  all  others  of  the  sort  in  a  tropi- 
cal climate,  is  liable  to  return  at  any  period.  Beyond  the 
mountains,  the  country  is  even  said  to  be  more  baneful  and 
dangerous  to  travel  through;  but,  from  the  want  of  roads  lit- 
tle intercourse  is  kept  up  further  in  the  interior.  We  return- 
ed home  long  after  the  sun  had  set,  which  here  is  speedily 
followed  by  darkness,  our  road  illuminated  by  myriads  of  fire- 
flies, larger  and  more  brilliant  than  any  which  I  have  before 
seen  in  India;  accustomed  as  I  have  now  been  for  two  years 
to  these  insects,  I  could  not  avoid  a  momentary  start  as  they 
lit  upon  me,  so  perfectly  do  they  resemble  sparks  of  fire. 
The  air,  after  very  great  heat,  had  cooled  so  rapidly,  as  to 
make  me  glad  to  button  up  my  habit,  but  it  was  very  delight- 
ful, and  I  have  not  often  enjoyed  a  ride  more. 

We  dined  in  the  king's  palace  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Down- 
ing; this  is  a  very  long  low  building,  at  the  extremity  of  the 
town,  painted  white,  with  stone  gateways;  its  front  extending 
nearly  200  yards;  a  hexagonal  building  of  two  stories  termi- 
nates it  at  one  end,  in  which  we  were  received;  the  rooms 
we  saw  are  small  and  low,  with  curious  grotesque  figures 
carved  on  the  walls.  Here  the  monarch  used  to  show  him- 
self in  state  to  his  people,  with  a  w4fe  on  either  hand,  for 
though  the  Candian  females  of  rank  have  seldom  been  seen  by 


JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  197 

Europeans,  they  were  not  before  the  conquest  kept  in  seclu- 
sion. At  the  other  end  o*f  the  palace  are  the  women's  apart- 
ments. 

The  horrible  practice  of  female  infanticide  still  prevails  in 
some  districts  in  the  island;  in  the  last  general  census  taken 
in  1821,  the  number  of  males  exceeded  bj  20,000  that  of  fe- 
males; in  one  district  there  were  to  every  hundred  men  but 
fifty-live  women,  and  in  those  parts  where  the  numbers  were 
equal,  the  population  was  almost  exclusively  Mussulman. 
The  strange  custom  of  one  woman  having  two,  or  even  more, 
husbands,  and  the  consequent  difficulty  of  marrying  their 
daughters,  in  a  country  where  to  live  single  is  disgraceful, 
seem  to  be  the  causes  of  this  unnatural  custom.  An  astrolo- 
ger is  consulted  on  the  birth  of  a  female  child,  and  if  he  pro- 
nounces her  to  have  been  born  under  evil  auspices,  she  is  ex- 
posed alive  in  the  woods,  to  be  destroyed  by  beasts  of  prey 
or  by  ants,  generally,  I  was  happy  to  hear,  without  the  con- 
sent of  the  mother. 

September  17. — We  visited  this  morning  some  of  the  Buddh- 
ist temples;  the  principal  one,  which  contains  the  recumbent 
figure  of  Buddh,  is  a  square  building,  with  sixteen  pillars  of 
masonry  supporting  the  roof.  The  figure  is  of  a  colossal  size, 
about  thirty  feet  long,  cut  out  of  the  rock,  and  there  are  se- 
veral small  figures  placed  round  it,  some  in  the  common  atti- 
tude of  sitting  with  the  legs  crossed,  others  standing;  many 
of  them  are  painted  a  bright  yellow,  and  the  ceiling  and  walls 
are  also  of  the  most  glaring  colours;  strong  smelling  flowers 
were,  as  usual,  ranged  as  an  offering  before  the  image,  and 
in  the  same  row  with  the  smaller  ones  were  placed  two  bells, 
the  sacred  symbol,  covered  up. with  great  care.  Although  the 
priests  touched  them  with  reverence,  they  showed  no  reluc- 
tance to  uncover  them  for  our  gratification. 

Adjoining  this  is  a  smaller  temple,  enclosing  another  image 
of  Buddh,  in  the  sitting  posture,  of  human  proportions,  and 
carved  with  considerable  skill;  the  countenance  is  pleasing, 
with  some  resemblance  to  the  Cingalese.  Many  images  sur- 
round him  in  relief;  one  is  of  Siva,  with  four  arms  and  his 
usual  attributes  of  the  lotus  and  the  cobra  de  capello;  some 
crocodiles  surrounding  the  figure  of  Buddh  would  seem  to 
prove  a  connexion  between  his  worship  and  the  Egyptian  ido- 
latry. The  Cingalese  colour  the  statues  of  their  gods,  and 
give  a  pupil  to  the  eye,  which  last  ceremony  is  supposed  to 
confer  a  superior  degree  of  holiness,  and  is  done  with  much 
mystery  and  solemnity.  Some  smaller  figures  of  Buddh  are 
very  neatly  executed  in  brass  and  copper;  indeed  the  na- 
tives seem  to  have  a  remarkable  talent  for  carving,   con- 


198  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUfi  IN  CEYLON. 

sidering  how  very  few  their  opportunities  of  improvement 
ean  be. 

In  another  temple  we  were  shown,  with  extraordinary  reve- 
i^nce,  some  relics  of  bone  taken  out  of  Raja  Singh's  tomb  at 
the  time  of  our  occupation  of  Candy,  when  all  the  royal  tombs 
were  broken  open,  and  gold  and  jewels  of  considerable  value 
found.  Tlie  cemetery  immediately  adjoins  this  temple;  the 
tombs  are  of  stone,  meanly  enough  sculptured,  and  much  in- 
jured by  the  violence  used  in  forcing  them  open;  the  Kings' 
and  Queens'  stand  on  opposite  sides,  and  there  is  little  to  re- 
commend the  spot  except  some  noble  peepul-trees  overhang- 
ing the  tombs,  which  prove  the  royal  family  to  have  been  Hin- 
doos. The  temples  in  Candy  are  very  numerous,  as  they  were 
considered  indispensable  appendages  to  great  men's  houses; 
lights  are  kept  burning  in  the  greater  number,  and  the  heat, 
added  to  the  strong  perfume  of  the  flowers  makes  it  very  un- 
])leasant  to  remain  in  them  for  more  than  a  few  minutes.  The 
famous  one  containing  the  tooth  of  Buddh  we  had  not  time  to 
visit,  but  we  were  shown  a  fac-similie  of  the  precious  relic, 
more  like  a  wild  beast's  tusk  than  a  human  tooth;  it  is  kept 
in  a  golden  case,  set  with  precious  stones,  and  this  is  en- 
closed within  four  others,  all  of  gold  and  increasing  in  size, 
and  all  studded  with  jewels;  no  relic  was  ever  more  sumptu- 
ously enshrined,  or  more  devoutly  worshipped.  When  we 
obtained  possession  of  it,  the  Candians  submitted  quietly  to 
our  rule,  believing  that  its  owners  have  an  undisputed  title 
to  their  crown. 

Adjoining  the  lake,  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  is  a  Buddhist 
college,  where  forty  priests  live  under  strict  discipline,  chiefly 
occupied  in  religious  duties  and  in  teaching;  their  houses  are 
of  the  best  sort  in  Candy,  of  one  story,  with  clay  walls  and 
tiled.  Two  temples  and  a  large  room  for  their  meetings  are 
within  the  enclosure  of  the  monastery,  the  roof  of  the  latter 
of  which  is  supported  by  immense  pillars,  each  of  a  single 
stone,  near  twenty  feet  high.  From  within  these  walls,  which 
are  close  to  Mr.  Sawer's  house,  the  sounds  of  the  tom-tom 
and  gongs  beat  in  honour  of  the  idol,  are  perpetually  heard. 

But  to  return  to  our  morning's  excursion:  from  the  cemetery 
we  visited  the  new  Mission-school,  just  erected,  on  a  hill  im- 
mediately opposite  to  it,  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Browning,  the 
only  Missionary  at  present  here;  the  Bishop  heard  the  chil- 
dren read  and  repeat  their  lessons  in  English,  Malabar  and 
Cingalese;  he  was  exceedingly  pleased  with  their  progress, 
and  with  the  establishment  altogether;  it  was  indeed,  an  inte- 
resting sight;  the  children  looked  happy,  anxious  to  say  their 
lessons,  and  very  proud  when  they  received  commendation* 


JOURNAL  OP  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.         199 

There  was  one  little  boy  who  particularly  attracted  my  at- 
tention by  the  eager  way  in  which,  after  the  Bishop  had  exa- 
mined him,  he  brought  his  book  to  me.  I  could  only  under- 
stand the  English,  but  this  he  read  fluently,  and  appeared  to 
understand.  The  situation  of  the  school  is  well  chosen,  and 
very  beautiful  5  and  the  whole  establishment  the  Bishop  consi- 
dered as  well  conducted,  and  of  great  promise.  There  are 
two  other  schools  altogether  containing  from  85  to  90  chil- 
dren, which  I  was  too  much  tired  to  accompany  the  Bishop  to 
visit:  he  spoke  favourably  of  both. 

In  the  evening  we  accompanied  the  Governor  to  the  tunnel 
which  he  had  recently  had  cut  through  a  hill  of  a  considerable 
height,  over  which  the  road  was  formerly  carried  from  the 
ferry  into  Candy.  Its  length  is  nearly  500  feet,  with  suffi- 
cient height  and  width  to  admit  of  carriages  passing  through 
it.  From  thence  we  descended  to  the  river  through  most 
beautiful  scenery.  It  really  is  melancholy  to  see  so  lovely  a 
country  rendered  almost  uninhabitable  during  the  greatest 
part  of  the  year,  in  some  places  even  to  the  natives,  by  the 
pestilential  malaria.  We  passed  the  ruins  of  a  small  village, 
which  an  engineer  officer  told  me  was  last  year  entirely  dis- 
peopled by  fever.  He  had  built  it  for  the  accommodation  of 
a  gang  of  workmen,  who  were  employed  in  erecting  a  bridge: 
and  on  his  return,  after  a  very  short  absence,  found  it  a  de- 
sert, all  its  inhabitants  having  either  died,  or  fled  to  preserve 
their  lives.  Most  of  the  workmen  employed  by  government 
here  are  Caff'res.  The  first  generation  appear  to  stand  the 
climate  well,  but  their  children  are  very  liable  to  pulmonary 
affections.  From  the  river  we  ascended  by  a  pathway  barely 
four  feet  wide,  which  led  us  a  distance  of  two  miles  round  the 
sid«  of  a  hill  till  we  emerged  again  on  the  great  road  leading  to 
Colombo.  This  path  is  cut  through  a  thick  jungle,  with  the 
river  running  through  the  valley,  which  is  here  very  narrow, 
at  a  consitlerable  depth  below  us.  It  was  extremely  beautiful, 
but  the  passing  through  so  thick  a  mass  of  foliage  affected  me 
towards  the  end  of  the  ride  with  a  feeling  of  sickness  and  suf- 
focation, vv'hich  gave  me  a  very  good  notion  of  what  the  coun- 
try must  be  during  the  unhealtliy  season.  Repassing  tlie  tun- 
nel. Sir  Edward  Barnes  made  the  CaffVes  set  up  a  yell,  which 
reverberating  against  its  roof  and  sides,  had  a  most  savage 
wild  effect.  Again  we  were  lit  home  by  fire-flies,  and  I  saw  a 
solitary  glow-worm,  of  a  size  and  brilliancy  far  exceeding 
those  of  England:  they  are  not  common  in  India. 

We  met  a  large  party  at  the  Pavilion  in  the  evening.  The 
Candian  market  is  miserably  supplied ;  poultry  is  nearly  all 
imported  from  Goa  and  Cochin;  sheep  soon  rot  and  die  off  in 
the  luxuriant  pasture;  and  beef,  though  in  most  places  reckon- 


200  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOITR  IN  CEYLON, 

ed  fine,  is  not  always  good  here.  The  woods  supply  them  witfl 
venison  and  game  of  all  sorts,  but  the  former  is  seldom  fat. 
In  the  Governor's  garden  a  few  English  vegetables  are  brought 
to  some  perfection,  but,  generally  speaking,  even  here  they 
succeed  ill }  and  the  top  of  the  coco-palm  is  the  only  good  in- 
digenous one  I  have  seen,  and  as  this  is  very  costly,  the  tree 
being  killed  by  cutting  it  off,  it  of  course  is  not  common. 

We  have  seen  a  few  of  the  Talypot  palms,  but  not  in  blos- 
som ;  the  circumference  of  a  single  leaf,  of  which  the  fans  I 
mentioned  are  made,  is  often  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet. 
A  branch  of  the  blossom  was  brought  to  me;  it  resembles  that 
of  the  palm  tribe  in  general,  and  is  curious  merely  from  the 
circumstance  of  the  tree  never  flowering  till  it  is  fifty  years  old, 
and  immediately  after  dying. 

September  18,  Sunday. — Early  this  morning  the  Bishop 
held  a  confirmation ;  there  were  seven  native  candidates,  and 
twenty  Europeans  ',  and  he  afterwards  preached  at  the  usual 
time  of  morning  service.  There  is  no  church,  but  the  Hall  of 
Audience,  where  the  Kingsof  Candy  held  their  courts,  is  used 
as  such ;  it  is  a  long  room,  of  which  the  wooden  pillars,  hav- 
ing the  lotus  carved  on  their  capitals,  are  the  only  ornamen- 
tal parts  remaining.  It  was  a  most  interesting  and  aftecting 
sight,  to  see  Christian  worship  performed,  and  a  Christian  bi- 
shop blessing  his  congregation,  a  part  of  which  was  native,  in 
the  very  spot  where  the  most  horrid  cruelties  were  exercised 
not  more  than  ten  years  ago.  How  little  could  such  an  event 
at  that  time  have  been  contemplated  !  Evening  service  was 
performed  here  for  the  first  time,  and  by  the  Bishop's  desire, 
it  is  to  be  continued.  Mr.  Perring,  the  colonial  Chaplain, 
preached.     The  mission  has  been  established  about  six  years. 

After  church,  I  rode  with  Sir  Edward  Barnes  to  the  spot 
where  the  massacre  of  two  hundred  Europeans  took  place,  im- 
mediately before  the  final  conquest  of  Candy.  Major  Davies, 
the  officer  commanding  the  corps,  had  on  evacuating  the  town, 
a  measure  in  itself.  Sir  Edward  Barnes  said,  improper  and 
unnecessary,  stipulated  that  the  men  should  be  allowed  to 
cross  the  country  in  safety  to  Trincomalee,  and  that  the  king 
should  provide  them  with  boats  to  pass  the  river.  On  arriv- 
ing at  its  borders,  iiowever,  no  boats  were  to  be  seen,  and  it 
was  then  further  insisted  on,  that  the  soldiers  should  lay  down 
their  arms.  To  this  condition  Major  Davies  was  infatuated 
enough  to  consent,  although  their  previous  conduct  had  given 
him  ample  reason  to  suspect  the  good  faith  of  government. 
The  result  was  such  as  might  have  been  anticipated  ;  the  men, 
with  the  exception  of  two,  who  escaped  wounded  to  Trinco- 
malee, were  all  massacred.  Major  Davies's  life  was  spared,  from 
a  kind  of  honourable  feeling,  as  being  the  individual  with 


JOURNAL  or  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  201 

whom  the  treaty  had  been  made  ;  but  he  spent  the  remainder 
of  his  life  at  Candy,  unnoticed  by  the  Europeans,  and,  at  last, 
adopted  the  dress  and  habits  of  the  natives.  A  half-caste  son 
of  his  still  lives  in  the  place,  supported  by  a  small  pension 
from  government.  A  large  flat  stone,  elevated  on  lesser  ones, 
was  shown  me  as  the  place  whence  the  king  beheld  the  massa- 
cre 5  and  a  tree  on  the  spot  where  the  negociation  was  held, 
still  bears  the  name  of  "Major  Davies's  tree." 

On  going  to  the  pavilion  in  the  evening  to  dinner,  we  found 
a  large  bear,  that  had  just  been  caught  in  the  north  of  the 
island,  fastened  before  the  door ;  it  was  black,  with  a  long 
whitish  snout,  but  it  was  too  dark  to  examine  it  very  minute- 
ly; and  as  it  was  merely  confined  by  a  rope  to  a  bush,  which 
bent  with  the  struggles  it  made  to  get  loose,  and  roared  and 
barked  in  a  furious  manner,  I  was  not  anxious  to  become  more 
closely  acquainted  with  it. 

Our  acquaintance,  Looko  Banda,  generally  accompanied  us 
on  our  evening  rides ;  he  was  very  anxious  to  introduce  his 
wives  and  daughters  to  me,  and  I  was  quite  as  much  so  to  see 
them ;  but  my  time  had  been  so  constantly  occupied  from  the 
moment  of  my  arrival,  that  I  was  obliged  to  leave  Candy  with- 
out visiting  them.  Our  departure  took  place  early  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  19th.  We  rode  to  the  Botanical  Gardens,  the  moun- 
tains to  the  east  affording  shelter  from  the  sun  for  some  hours 
after  he  is  risen.  I  saw  some  very  curious  plants,  among 
others  the  Annatto  shrub,  which  stains  the  finger  a  bright  yel- 
low on  bruising  it,  and  is  used  as  a  dye  by  the  natives ;  a 
species  of  air  plant,  which  has  no  root,  nor  any  visible  means 
of  obtaining  nourishment,  and  requires  to  be  merely  suspended 
in  the  open  air,  sheltered  from  the  sun  :  when  planted,  or  fre- 
quently watered,  it  dies.  The  specimen  I  saw  had  a  small 
brown  sweet-scented  blossom,  and  looked  quite  healthy. 
These  gardens  are  only  in  their  infancy,  but  very  flourishing. 
The  death  of  their  superintendant,  Mr.  Moon,  has  for  the  pre- 
sent, put  a  stop  to  the  improvement ;  the  situation  is  beauti- 
ful, but  being  near  the  river,  is  not  healthy.  At  Ootian  Can- 
dy we  again  slept,  and  riding  to  Ballypore,  breakfasted  at 
Veangodde,  and  arrived  at  St.  Sebastian's,  in  a  heavy  storm 
of  thunder  and  rain,  about  five  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the 
20th.  We  had  the  happiness  of  finding  Emily  perfectly  well, 
and  of  receiving  good  accounts  of  Harriet.  We  both  of  us 
enjoyed  the  excursion  extremely,  and  only  wished  for  time  to 
have  seen  more  of  the  beauties  of  this  lovely  island. 

I  was  much  struck  with  the  almost  total  absence  of  small 
birds  in  the  interior.  It  is  supposed  that  serpents,  with  which 
the  island  abounds,  destroy  the  eggs :  some  destructive  agent 
of  this  kind  there  must  be,   in  a  place'peculiarly  adapted  for 


202  JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

their  increase  ;  and  this,  certainly,  seems  the  most  obvious.  I 
saw  parrots  of  various  sorts,  pigeons,  cranes,  and  heard  jun- 
gle-fowls and  pheasants.  Pea-fowls  abound  in  the  interior, 
and  the  honey -bird,  which  points  out  where  the  bees  have  built 
their  combs,  is  found  here.  There  are  only  four  snakes  ascer- 
tained to  be  poisonous  ;  the  Cobra  de  Capello  is  the  most  com- 
mon, but  its  bite  is  not  so  certainly  fatal  as  that  of  the  Tic 
Polonga,  which  destroys  life  in  a  few  minutes.  These  are 
fortunately  scarce:  experiments  have  been  frequently  made  on 
the  subtlety  of  its  poison j  the  first  bite  will  kill  a  fowl  in  less 
than  a  minute,  but  frequent  repetitions  seem  to  destroy  its 
force,  and  very  considerable  provocation  is  required  to  make 
the  animal  bite,  as  if  it  was  sensible  its  power  of  injury  wa» 
weakened,  or  even  quite  lost.  I  had  a  specimen  given  me  by 
an  ofiicer  at  a  small  station  between  Ootian  Candy  and  Kadoo- 
garnarvon  pass ;  it  was  a  young  one,  and  had  not  attained  the 
ordinary  size  of  between  four  and  five  feet.  Its  head  was  near- 
ly triangular,  the  back  of  it  gray,  and  under  the  throat  a 
light  yellow.  The  back  was  regularly  spotted  with  brown, 
and  the  tail  short  and  tapering.  It  is  at  all  times  indolent, 
and  will  not  attack  unless  it  is  irritated.  The  Boa  Constric- 
tor is  occasionally  found  of  the  enormous  length  of  thirty  feet. 
The  bite  is  not  poisonous,  but  its  size  renders  it  extremely 
formidable,  though  the  stories  of  its  attacking  so  large  an 
animal  as  a  buffalo,  or  even  a  cheta,  seem  quite  untrue  :  it 
preys  upon  goats,  fowls,  and  the  smaller  game.  Alligators, 
of  a  very  large  size,  are  numerous  in  the  rivers.  The  flying 
leech,  which  I  never  heard  of  before,  is  very  common  in  the 
jungles  in  the  interior;  and  the  native  troops,  on  their  march 
to  Candy,  suffered  very  severely  from  their  bites,  occasional- 
ly even  to  the  loss  of  life  or  limb  :  their  legs  were  covered  with 
them,  and  streamed  with  blood.  I  saw  one  of  these  animals 
on  a  horse's  leg ;  it  is  much  smaller  than  the  common  leech  5 
the  largest  is,  when  at  rest,  not  more  than  half  an  inch  long, 
and  may  be  extended  till  it  becomes  as  thin  as  a  fine  string. 
The  smaller  ones  are  very  minute  ;  they  possess  the  power  of 
springing,  by  means  of  a  filament,  to  a  considerable  distance, 
and  are  very  annoying  to  cattle  and  horses.  There  are  also 
large  black  scorpions,  lizards,  cameleons,  &c.  &c.  and  an  as- 
tonishing variety  of  insects,  with  which  we  are,  as  yet,  but 
imperfectly  acquainted.  The  most  curious  of  these  are  the 
leaf-insects,  which  assume  the  shape,  size,  and  general  appear- 
ance of  the  leaf  on  which  they  feed  so  exactly,  that  it  is  only 
on  examination  one  become  aware  of  their  real  character.  1 
saw  several,  but  the  most  extraordinary  was  one  M'hich  lived 
on  a  thorny  plant,  the  body  of  which  resembled  a  stick,  and 
was  covered  with  thorns,  like  a  shrub.     I  have  had  several  of 


JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  203 

these  given  me ;  together  with  a  black  scorpion,  and  some 
other  insects  in  spirits,  which  I  hope  some  day  or  other  to 
take  home,  and  I  have  also  collected  and  dried  as  many  flowers 
as  came  within  my  reach. 

The  precious  stones,  for  which  Ceylon  is  famous,  are  reckon- 
ed less  valuable  than  those  of  the  western  continent.  The 
emerald  is,  perhaps,  the  only  one  not  found  in  the  island 5  the 
amethyst  is  the  most  common;  and  on  the  old  road  to  Candy, 
through  the  seven  corles,  large  pieces  are  often  struck  out  by 
horses'  hoofs,  but  they  are  seldom  found  without  a  flaw.  The 
cat's-eye  and  the  sapphire,  when  of  a  large  size,  are  beautiful 
and  very  valuable:  the  topaz,  ruby,  tormaline,  diamond,  and 
various  others  are  also  found  in  most  abundance  in  the  dis- 
trict of  Matura.  A  kind  friend  has  procured  me  specimens 
of  all  in  their  rough  state,  which  I  consider  a  valuable  acqui- 
sition. The  cinnamon-stone  is,  I  believe,  peculiar  to  Ceylon, 
and  is  probably  so  called  from  its  colour  resembling  that  of 
the  cinnamon  leaf  on  its  first  appearance.  The  natives  set 
them  with  great  neatness,  and  with  means  apparently  very 
inadequate  to  the  work.  The  fruits  seem  to  me  very  much 
the  same  as  those  of  India,  with  the  addition  of  the  mangos- 
teen,  but  this  is  now  out  of  season. 

September  23. — We  left  Colombo*  early  this  morning  in 

•  The  following  address  from  the  acting  Archdeacon  and  clergy  of  Co- 
lombo, was  sent  to  the  bishop  previous  to  his  leaving  Colombo. 
To  the  Right  Reverend  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Calcutta. 

May  it  please  your  Lordship, 

We,  the  acting  Archdeacon  and  Clergy  of  this  archdeaconry,  ac- 
knowledge with  thankfulness  the  benefits  we  have  received  from  your 
Lordsliip's  visitation  of  this  part  of  your  diocese.  We  ascribe  it  to  the 
Father  of  lights,  from  whom  every  good  and  every  perfect  gift  cometh, 
that  your  Lordship  has  been  made  his  chosen  instrument,  as  we  trust, 
for  promoting  the  spiritual  benefit,  as  well  of  the  clergy  over  whom 
he  has  appointed  you  overseer,  as  of  all  orders  of  men  who  have  come 
within  the  sphere  of  your  Lordship's  influence. 

We  feel  it  necessary,  my  Lord,  to  restrain  the  full  utterance  of  our 
feelings  on  this  occasion,  but  we  must  beg  to  be  allowed  to  express 
our  ardent  hopes  that  your  devoted  piety,  your  unwearied  zeal,  your 
judicious  counsels,  and  your  most  conciliatory  kindness,  may  have  pro- 
duced in  us  desu'es,  not  ineffectual,  to  press  forward  ourselves  also  in 
our  holy  vocation. 

The  encouragement  we  have  unitedly  derived  from  your  Lordship's 
presence  among  us,  tends  greatly  to  strengthen  our  hands.  In  the 
consciousness  that  by  the  gracious  providence  of  our  heavenly  Father, 
we  have  collectively  and  individually  the  same  wise  and  affectionate 
counsellor,  and  in  recognizing  this  tie  that  connects  us  with  your  Lord- 
ship, we  feel  more  than  ever  that  we  are  fellow-labourers  together, 
peculiarly  called  upon  to  bear  one  another's  burdens,  and  to  provoke 
one  another  to  love  and  to  good  works. 

In  conclusion,  my  Lord,  we  pray  that  the  great  Shepherd  and  Bishop 


204         JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

the  Governor's  carriage,  having  bid  adieu  the  preceding  even- 
ing to  him  and  Ladj  Barnes,  which  we  did  with  much  regret, 
for  we  have  received  great  and  invariable  kindness  from  both; 
indeed,  the  hospitality  which  we  have  met  with  from  the  so- 
ciety of  Colombo  in  general  has  been  very  gratifying;  and  we 
look  forward  with  pleasure  to  a  renewal  of  our  visit,  which 
we  hope  to  effect  for  a  short  period  next  year,  if  the  season 
should  be  favourable  for  a  voyage  to  Jaffna,  which  the  Bishop 
purposes  visiting  from  the  coast. 

At  Paltura  we  again  were  driven  by  Mr.  Rodney  to  Caltura, 
where,  in  a  very  pretty  bungalow,  belonging  to  Mr.  Layard, 
commanding  a  beautiful  view  of  the  river  and  the  sea,  we 
breakfasted.  The  rivers  in  Ceylon  are  very  seldom  naviga- 
ble far  inland;  during  the  dry  season  there  is  not  a  sufficient 
depth  of  water,  and  in  the  rains  they  rise  so  rapidly  from  the 
mountain  torrents,  that  it  is  dangerous  to  venture  on  them. 
On  those  near  Colombo,  we  were  told  that  some  hundred  flat- 
bottomed  boats  were  moored  for  the  purpose  of  fishing,  in 
which  large  families  resided,  who  had  no  other  dwellings;  all 
the  rivers  and  lakes,  as  well  as  the  sea,  abound  with  fish.  We 
spent  some  hours  very  agreeably  with  Mr.  Layard,  eat  our  tiffin 
with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rodney,  and  then  proceeded  to  Ben  Totte, 
where  we  again  passed  the  night. 

September  24. — Long  before  day-break  we  were  on  our  way 
to  Baddagame.  At  Amblangodde  we  breakfasted,  and  at  Ken- 
nery  left  the  main  road,  and  wound  through  very  narrow  paths, 
and  over  broken  bridges,  scarcely  passable  even  to  a  palan- 
queen,  across  a  flat  swampy  country,  till  we  arrived  at  the  first 
river  which  we  had  crossed  on  leaving  Galle,  but  some  miles 
higher  up.  The  country  then  improved  into  great  beauty,  and  at 
the  end  of  about  two  miles  we  came  within  sight  of  a  church  on 
the  summit  of  a  hill,  with  the  house  of  one  of  the  missionaries, 
Mr.  Mayor,  immediately  adjoining  it,  and  that  of  Mr.  Ward 
on  another  eminence  close  to  it,  forming  altogether  a  land- 

of  our  souls,  may  stiff  more  riclily  endow  you  with  His  heavenly  grace, 
strengthening-  you  for  the  gi'eat  work  to  which  He  has  caff ed  you,  pro- 
longing your  vahiable  life  for  the  good  of  His  church  and  people,  and 
at  length,  having  honoured  you  as  His  servant  to  gather  into  His  fold 
great  numbers  from  among  these  eastern  nations,  may  give  you,  toge- 
ther with  them,  an  abundant  entrance  into  His  heavenly  kingdom. 

James  AI.  S.  Glenie,  Acting  Archdeacon. 

H.  Gartstin,  Colonial  Chaplain. 

A.  Armouii,  Colonial  Chaplain. 

J.  H.  D.  Sahum,  Colonial  Chaplain. 

Samuel  Lambrick,  Church  Missionary. 

Joseph  Knight,  Church  Missionary. 

C.  David,  Colonial  Chaplain. 
Colombo,  September  22nd,  1825. 


JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  205 

scape  of  singular  and  interesting  beauty.  We  ascended  by 
a  steep  road  to  Mr.  Mayor's,  where  we  found  the  families  of 
the  two  missionaries,  and  some  of  our  friends  from  Galle, 
awaiting  our  arrival.  At  the  foot  of  this  hill,  the  river  we  had 
recently  crossed  winds  through  what  has  the  appearance  of  a 
richly  dressed  lawn,  while  all  around  rise  mountains,  one  above 
the  other  to  a  considerable  height,  and  in  an  endless  variety 
of  shape.  On  our  right  was  the  church,  a  very  pretty  build- 
ing, and  behind  us  stood  Mr.  Ward's  house.  The  whole  scene 
was  peculiarly  interesting.  Here  we  found  two  very  young 
men,  with  their  wives  and  children,  separated  from  all  Euro- 
pean society  by  many  miles  of  country  impassable,  save  in 
two  directions,  even  to  palanqueens,  devoting  themselves  en- 
tirely to  the  service  of  their  Maker,  in  spreading  his  religion 
among  the  heathen,  and  in  the  education  of  their  families. 
The  two  families  indeed  seem  to  form  but  one  household,  liv- 
ing together  in  Christian  fellowship,  and  with  no  other  object 
but  to  serve  their  God,  and  do  their  duty  to  their  neighbour. 
I  have  seldom  been  more  gratified,  I  may  say  affected,  than  by 
this  sight.  I  am  aware  how  strong  a  prejudice  there  exists  in 
many  quarters  to  missions  in  general,  but  I  felt  that  if  one  of 
their  strongest  opponents  could  have  witnessed  what  I  then 
did,  and  could  have  informed  himself  of  the  real  good  that  is 
doing,  (not  here  alone,  but  by  the  other  missionaries  in  the 
island,)  by  the  silent,  judicious,  and  unwearied  labours  of  these 
good  men,  his  opposition  must  have  ceased.  Mr.  Mayor,  who 
is  son  to  our  neighbour  at  Shawbury,  was  originally  brought 
up  in  the  medical  line,  and  passed  a  very  good  examination; 
his  surgical  and  medical  knowledge  are  invaluable  to  himself 
and  his  neighbours,  so  far  removed  as  they  are  from  all  assist- 
ance; and  even  during  the  short  time  we  were  his  guests,  we 
found  their  use  in  a  sudden  attack  our  little  girl  had,  brought 
on  by  fatigue  and  over-exertion. 

September  9.5,  Sunday. — The  Bishop  consecrated  the  church 
and  afterwards  the  burial-ground  this  morning:  almost  all  the 
European  residents  from  Galle,  and  a  great  number  of  natives 
were  assembled  to  witness  the  ceremony;  and  I  think,  the  pe- 
culiar circumstances  under  which  it  was  performed,  must  have 
rendered  it  highly  interesting  to  the  greater  part  of  the  con- 
gregation; at  least,  if  I  may  judge  of  their  feelings  by  my  cwn. 
The  Bishop  preached  and  in  the  afternoon  confirmed  thirteen 
persons,  all  of  whom,  save  three,  were  Cingalese;  making,  to- 
gether with  five  who  had  been  previously  confirmed  at  Galle, 
fifteen  recently  converted  natives  in  this  mission,  four  of  whom 
received  the  sacrament. 

In  the  evening  the  Bishop  examined  some  of  the  scholars,  and 
heard  them  read  and  construe  a  chapter  rn  the  New  Testament 


306         JOURNAL  or  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON. 

from  English  into  Cingalese.  This  station  has  been  establish- 
ed six  years,  and  if  the  lives  of  the  missionaries  are  spared, 
there  is  every  reasonable  hope,  with  God's  blessing,  of  its  being 
productive  of  extensive  good. 

September  26.-— We  left  Baddagame  in  palanqueens,  along 
the  banks  of  the  river,  which  was  too  much  swollen  by  heavy 
rains,  lately  fallen,  to  admit  of  our  going  in  boats;  indeed  the 
tract  was  in  some  parts  covered  with  water,  so  deep  that  it 
nearly  entered  my  palanqueen,  and  was  very  fatiguing  to  the 
poor  bearers.  In  the  afternoon  we  arrived  at  Galle,  and  re- 
sumed our  former  apartments  at  Mr.  Sansoni's. 

In  the  expectation  of  being  able  to  sail  to-morrow,  the 
Bishop  set  off  immediately  to  visit  Mrs.  Gisborne's  school. 
My  poor  little  girl  was  still  suffering  under  the  eftects  of  her 
recent  attack  at  Baddagame,  which  prevented  my  accompany- 
ing him;  this  I  very  much  regretted,  when,  on  his  return,  he 
gave  me  an  account  of  the  establishment,  which  had  pleased 
him  very  much,  and  which  reflected  great  credit  on  Mrs. 
Gisborne's  good  sense  and  good  management. 

We  were  detained  two  days  at  Galle  by  unfavourable 
winds,  for  it  is  impossible  to  leave  the  harbour  unless  it  blows 
from  a  particular  quarter. 

Early  in  the  morning  of  the  29th  we  re-embarked,  our  party 
being  augmented  by  a  son  of  Mr.  Layard's,  and  one  of  Cap- 
tain Driburgh's,  (the  Commandant  at  Galle,)  the  latter  of 
whom  was  on  his  way  to  Bishop's  College,  as  one  of  the  new 
students. 

Our  visit  to  Ceylon  has  afforded  us  very  great  pleasure  and 
interest,  from  its  agreeable  society,  the  beauty  of  its  scenery, 
its  curiosities,  and,  far  above  all,  from  the  religious  state  of 
the  native  inhabitants.  I  have  heard  it  said,  that  the  number 
of  Christians  on  the 'coast,  and  amongst  our  settlements,  do 
not  fall  far  short  of  half  a  million;  very  many  of  these,  un- 
doubtedly, are  merely  nominally  such,  who  have  no  objection 
to  attend  our  church,  and  even  would,  if  they  were  allowed, 
partake  without  scruple  in  her  rites;  and  then,  perhaps,  the 
same  evening,  offer  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  to  the  devil  I  Still, 
the  number  of  real  Christians  is  very  considerable;  the  con- 
gregations in  the  native  churches  are  good;  and  the  numbers 
who  came  for  confirmation,  (none  were,  of  course,  admitted, 
of  whose  fitness  their  Ministers  were  not  well  convinced,) 
was  extremely  gratifying.  I  think  the  Bishop  confirmed  above 
300, 

The  Church  Missionary  Society  has  four  stations, — Nellore, 
Baddagame,  Cotta,  and  Candy,  supplied  at  present  with  but 
six  Missionaries:  were  its  funds  sufficient,  there  would,  per- 
haps, be  no  limits  to  which  its  beneficial  effects  might  not  ex- 


JOURNAL  OF  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON.  207 

tend 5  but  the  island  is  too  poor  to  do  much  for  itself,  and 
must  mainly  depend  on  its  friends  at  home  for  assistance. 
Caste  exists  in  considerable  force,  but  it  is,  perhaps,  more 
political  than  religious  caste.  That  of  the  Chaliers  I  have 
already  mentioned;  there  is  another,  yet  lower,  called  ''  Rho- 
ders,"  whose  tribe  was  originally  degraded  for  eating  beef; 
their  women  are  fortune-tellers;  a  large  proportion  of  the  Cin- 
galese are,  however,  on  an  equality  in  this  respect,  and  have 
no  objection  to  following  any  liberal  profession.  At  Candy, 
the  population  is  scrupulously  divided  into  castes,  which  in- 
clude all  the  different  ranks  and  professions;  but  there  is  one 
caste  quite  excluded  from  all  intercourse  with  their  country- 
men. The  name  I  have  forgotten,  but  I  was  told  that  they 
lived  in  the  deepest  misery,  from  which  no  good  behaviour  on 
their  part  could  raise  them.  On  meeting  a  Candian  of  any 
rank,  they  are  forced  to  pay  him  the  same  reverence  that  this 
last  would  do  to  his  king. 

The  worship  of  Buddh  is  the  prevailing  religion  in  Candy 
as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the  island,  and  there  are  also 
among  the  Candians  some  nominal  Christians,  who  use  his 
doctrines  as  a  charm  against  evil  spirits;  this  -province  has, 
however,  been  for  too  short  a  time  under  Christian  government, 
to  expect  any  very  considerable  effects  from  our  intercourse 
with  its  natives. 

The  Candians  are  a  much  handsomer  and  finer  race  than 
the  Cingalese,  the  latter  of  whom  are  short  and  slightly  made, 
with  countenances  a  good  deal  resembling  the  images  of  Buddh. 
In  our  journey  to  Candy  I  was  much  pleased  with  the  readi- 
ness and  zeal  with  which  the  men  used  to  push  the  carriages 
up  the  steep  hills,  or  hold  them  back  in  their  descent.  On 
the  coast  there  is  a  great  mixture  of  inhabitants,  descendants 
of  the  Dutch  and  Portuguese  as  well  as  Malays,  and  many 
others  from  the  coast.  There  are  Mussulmans  and  Hindoos 
in  all  parts,  but  no  great  proportion  of  the  latter. 

The  climate  on  the  south  and  south-west  coast  is  particu- 
larly fine  for  a  tropical  country,  the  thermometer  at  Colombo 
ranges  from  75°  to  86°  or  87°,  seldom  exceeding  the  latter, 
though  so  near  the  line.  This  is  partly  to  be  attributed  to  the 
constant  sea-breezes,  and  partly  to  its  sharing  in  the  winds 
and  rains  of  the  two  monsoons  which  blow  at  different  periods 
on  the  Malabar  and  Coromandel  coasts.  It  is  not  generally 
injurious  to  European  constitutions  either  there  or  to  the  nortli; 
and  I  have  seen  several  individuals,  apparently  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  health,  though  without  colour,  who  have  never  been 
out  of  the  island.  Last  year  Ceylon  suffered  from  sickness, 
in  common  with  all  India,  very  severely,  which  only  ceased 

Vol.   II 18 


208  JOURNAL  OP  A  TOUR  IN  CEYLON* 

when  the  rains  set  in,  they  having  been  preceded  by  an  unu- 
sual drought. 

Sir  Edward  Barnes  interests  himself  much  in  the  improve- 
ment of  the  natives;  the  roads  which  he  is  making  must  con- 
tribute essentially  to  their  prosperity  and  comfort,  and  he  is 
attempting  to  introduce  among  them  the  system  of  entail;  at 
present  property  is  subdivided  into  the  minutest  portions, 
even  to  the  coco-tree,  the  154th  part  of  one  of  which  I  have 
seen  advertised  for  sale.  While  this  custom,  with  that  of 
forced  labour,  lasts,  the  island  must  be  poor;  in  fact,  glorious 
as  it  is  by  nature,  it  has  as  yet  had  very  few  of  the  advantages 
of  civilization. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

CALCUTTA  TO  SADRAS. 

voyage invalid  officers  and  soldiers  from  rangoon- 
catamarans madras— schools native     christians 

visit  to  prince  azeem  khan sir  thomas  munro st. 

Thomas's  mount — maha-bali-poor — sadras. 

January  30,  1826. — I  again  left  with  a  heavy  heart,  my 
dear  wife  and  children,  for  the  visitation  of  Madras,  and  the 
south  of  India.  I  was  accompanied  by  my  Chaplain,  Mr. 
Robinson,  and  went  down  by  boat  to  Fultah,  a  village  about 
25  miles  from  Calcutta,  where  is  a  good  tavern  kept  by  a 
Dutch  native  of  Chinsurah.  The  village  is  large  and  popu- 
lous, the  greater  part  of  the  people  are  engaged  either  in 
rearing  stock  for  the  ships  at  Diamond  Harbour,  or  in  making 
straw  hats,  and  other  trifling  articles,  for  strangers  passing 
up  and  down  the  river.  The  surrounding  country  is  like  all 
the  rest  of  lower  Bengal,  green,  perfectly  level,  overflowed 
annually  by  the  river,  and  distributed  in  rice-fields,  scatter- 
ed in  patches  amid  almost  interminable  groves  of  fruit-trees 
and  palms.  We  found  it  much  cooler  than  Calcutta,  and 
less  infested  with  musquitos;  but  during  the  greater  part  of 
the  year  both  this  place  and  all  the  country  round  Diamond 
Harbour,  and  thence  towards  the  sea,  is  intensely  unwhole- 
some. Were  it  otherwise,  this  would  be  a  good  place  for  u 
missionary,  and  has  been  thought  of  for  that  purpose.  The 
population  of  the  whole  neighbourhood  appears  to  swarm  like 
an  ant-hill,  but  they  are  all  cottagers;  no  traces  of  even  mo- 


VOYAGE  TO  MADRAS.  209 

derate  wealth  appear  among  them,  though  their  dwellings  are 
clean,  and  their  poverty,  to  a  person  acquainted  with  the  few 
and  simple  wants  of  this  climate,  does  not  seem  abject.  Per- 
haps they  do  not  fare  the  worse  for  having  the  majority  of 
their  Zemindars  non-resident. 

February  2. — Having  received  our  summons  the  preceding 
evening,  and  the  wind  now  blowing  pleasantlj^  from  the  north, 
we  proceeded  down  the  noble  Ganges,  which  is  here,  I  should 
apprehend,  eight  miles  at  least  in  breadth,  following  the  ship 
to  a  creek  called  Barakatallah,  a  little  below  Calpee,  and  di- 
verging from  the  Ganges  into  the  Sunderbunds. 

While  anchored  at  Saugor  point,  on  the  4th,  the  steam-ves- 
sel, Enterprise,  passed  us,  with  despatches  from  Frome,  and 
bringing  the  unwelcome  intelligence,  though  somewhat  re- 
lieved by  the  news  of  a  victory,  that  hostilities  had  recom- 
menced with  the  Burmese. 

Sunday^  February  5.— -We  proceeded  to  the  Sandheads, 
and  dismissed  the  pilot.  I  was  glad  to  learn  from  him  that  a 
poor  man,  who  had  once  taken  us  up  the  river,  and  got  mise- 
rably drunk  on  that  occasion,  had  been  greatly  impressed  by 
some  good  advice  I  had  given  him,  and  had  since  remained  a 
water-drinker,  I  wish  my  good  counsels  were  always  equally 
successful ! 

Our  voyage  to  Madras  was  tedious,  and  not  over-pleasantj 
we  had  a  steady,  and,  for  this  season,  a  most  unusual  south- 
west wind,  from  the  time  the  pilot  left  us,  down  to  February 
25,  when  we  with  difficulty  reached  the  roads.  The  Busso- 
rah  Merchant  had  a  very  fine  and  orderly  crew  of  British' 
seamen,  without  a  single  Lascar.  There  were  also-  thirty 
miserable  invalid  soldiers,  with  some  women  and  children, 
going  back,  with  broken  health  and  depraved  habits,  either  to 
England,  or,  which  seemed  most  probable  with  many  of  them, 
to  die  at  sea.  These  poor  people  were,  apparently  attentive 
to  what  Mr.  Robinson  and  I  read  and  prayed,  and  we  took 
it  by  turns  to  visit  them  once  a  day.  We  were  not,  however, 
able  to  flatter  ourselves  that  the  impression  made  was  at  all 
deep,  and  the  women,  in  particular,  seemed  incorrigible  in 
their  drunkenness,  though  one  of  them,  who  was  actually  and 
hopelessly  dying  from  this  cause,  was  a  fluent  talker  on  reli- 
gious matters,  and  had  been,  she  told  us,  religiously  educa- 
ted, and,  while  in  England,  a  constant  member  of  Mr.  Row- 
land Hill's  congregation. 

Nothing  can  be  more  foolish,  or  in  its  effects  more  perni-. 
cious,  than  the  manner  in  wliich  spirits  are  distributed  to  Eu- 
ropean troops  in  India.     Early  every  morning  a  pint  of  fiery, 
coarse,  undiluted   rum  is  given  to  every  man,  and  half  that 
quaatity  to  every  woman^  this,  the  greater  part  of  the  new- 


210  VOYAGE  TO  MADRAS. 

comers  abhor  in  the  first  instance,  or  would,  at  all  events,  if 
left  to  themselves,  mix  with  water.  The  ridicule  of  their 
seasoned  companions,  however,  deters  them  from  doing  so, 
and  a  habit  of  the  worst  kind  of  intemperance  is  acquired  in 
a  few  weeks,  more  fatal  to  the  anny  than  the  swords  of  the 
Jats,  or  the  climate  of  the  Burmese.  If  half  the  quantity  of 
spirits,  well  watered,  were  given  at  a  more  seasonable  hour, 
and  to  compensate  for  the  loss  of  the  rest,  a  cup  of  strong 
coffee  allowed  to  each  man  every  morning,  the  men  would  be 
quite  as  well  pleased,  and  both  their  bodies  and  souls  pre- 
served from  many  dreadful  evils.  Colonel  Williams,  of  the 
"  Queen's  Own,"  whom  we  met  at  Bombay,  has  tried  this 
experiment  with  much  success,  and  it  might,  with  a  little  re- 
solution, be  universal  throughout  the  army. 

The  younger  sailors  were,  many  of  them,  very  attentive 
and  devout,  when  we  visited  the  soldiers.  On  Sundays,  in- 
deed, all  the  crew  were  decent  and  orderly  in  their  attend- 
ance on  Divine  Service,  and  the  passengers,  though  a  set  little 
less  motley  than  the  crew,  evinced  much  readiness  to  join 
in  family  prayer  every  evening.  There  was  much  grievous 
distress  on  board.  Two  officers  from  Rangoon  and  Arracan, 
both  gentlemanly  young  men,  the  one  wasted  by  fever  to  a 
living  skeleton,  without  use  of  his  legs  or  arms,  carried  up 
and  down  the  ladder  to  and  from  table,  his  eyes  almost  glaz- 
ed, and  his  voice  feeble  and  hollow,— -the  other,  who  was  par- 
ticularly intelligent  and  good-tempered,  and  had  the  traces  of 
much  strength  and  manly  beauty,  was  covered  from  head  to 
foot  with  ulcers,  some  of  which  reached  quite  to  his  bones. 
Both  these,  as  well  as  a  third,  who  was  killing  himself  with 
dram-drinking,  were  going  home  for  their  health,  though  the 
surgeon  of  the  ship  expressed  great  fears  that  all  three  would 
share  the  fate  of  a  poor  baby  who  died  on  board,  and  find 
their  graves  before  they  reached  Europe. 

Two  of  the  female  passengers  were  also  objects  of  conside- 
rable pity;  the  first  being  a  young  widow,  whose  husband,  a 
small  indigo  planter,  had  failed  in  business  and  destroyed 
himself,  and  who  was  now  going  home  with  her  child,  to  live 
on  the  charity  of  some  poor  relations.  The  other,  a  wretched 
crazy  girl  also  in  an  humble  rank  of  life,  who  had  fallen  in 
love  with  a  man  in  a  more  elevated  situation,  and  who  had 
since  hardly  spoken  at  all,  but  continued  crying  all  day  long. 

On  the  whole,  what  I  saw  and  heard  on  board  the  Bussorah 
Merchant,  was  not  calculated  to  make  my  voyage  one  of 
pleasure,  even  if  I  had  felt  less  keenly  my  separation  at  Cal- 
cutta. It  was  a  comfort  to  me,  however,  with  regard  to  this, 
that  the  officers  on  board,  who  were  all  well  acquainted  with 
Madras  and  the  south  of  India,  coincided  in  opinion  with  what 


CATAMARANS.  211 

we  had  been  previously  told,  that  it  would  be  highly  impro- 
per for  either  women  or  children  to  travel  there  at  this  season 
of  the  year. 

Our  first  view  of  the  coast  of  Goromandel  was  of  some  low 
craggy  hills  near  Pulicat,  at  some  little  distance  inland. 
Madras  itself  is  on  a  level  beach,  having  these  hills  eight  or  ten 
miles  to  the  north,  and  the  insulated  rock  of  St.  Thomas  about 
the  same  distance  southward.  The  buildings  and  fort  towards 
the  sea  are  handsome,  though  not  large,  and  grievously  defi- 
cient in  shade;  the  view,  however,  from  the  roads,  and  on 
landing,  is  very  pretty. 

The  masuli-boats,  (which  first  word  is  merely  a  corruption  of 
**muchli,"  fish,)  have  been  often  described,  and,  except  that 
they  are  sewed  together  with  coco-nut  twine,  instead  of  being 
fastened  with  nails,  they  very  much  resemble  the  high  deep 
charcoal  boats,  which  are  frequently  seen  on  the  Ganges.  The 
catamarans,  however,  I  found  I  had  no  idea  of  till  I  saw  them. 
They  are  each  composed  of  three  coco-tree  logs,  lashed  toge- 
ther, and  big  enough  to  carry  one,  or  at  most,  two  persons. 
In  one  of  these  a  small  sail  is  fixed,  like  those  used  in  Ceylon, 
and  the  navigator  steers  with  a  little  paddle;  the  float  itself  is 
almost  entirely  sunk  in  the  water,  so  that  the  effect  is  very 
singular  of  a  sail  sweeping  along  the  surface  with  a  man  be- 
hind it,  and  apparently  nothing  to  support  them.  Those  who 
have  no  sails  are  consequently  invisible,  and  the  men  have 
the  appearance  of  treading  water,  and  performing  evolutions 
with  a  racket.  In  very  rough  weather  the  men  lash  themselves 
to  their  little  rafts,  but  in  ordinary  seas  they  seem,  though  fre- 
quently washed  off,  to  regard  such  accidents  as  mere  trifles, 
being  naked  all  but  a  wax-clotb  cap,  in  which  they  keep  any 
letters  they  may  have  to  convey  to  ships  in  the  roads,  and  all 
swimming  like  fish.  Their  only  danger  is  from  sharks,  which 
are  said  to  abound.  These  cannot  hurt  them  while  on  their 
floats,  but  woe  be  to  them  if  they  catch  them  while  separated 
from  that  defence.  Yet  even  then,  the  case  is  not  quite  hope- 
less, since  the  shark  can  only  attack  them  from  below;  and  a 
rapid  dive,  if  not  in  very  deep  water  will  sometimes  save 
them.  I  have  met  an  Englishman  who  thus  escaped  from  a 
shark  which  had  pursued  him  for  some  distance.  He  was 
cruelly  wounded,  and  almost  dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocky 
bottom  against  which  the  surf  threw  him;  but  the  shark  dared 
not  follow,  and  a  few  strokes  more  placed  him  in  safety. 

The  contrary  wind  which  had  so  long  delayed  us,  ensured 
us  a  peaceable  landing,  as  it  blew  directly  off  shore,  and  the 
surf  was  consequently  much  less  than  it  often  is,  or  than  I 
had  heard  it  described.  It  was  less  than  we  had  seen  it  in 
the  shore  of  Ceylon,  not  merely  at  Galle,  but  at  Barbareen, 

18* 


212 


MADRAS. 


and  on  the  beach  near  Colombo^  still  it  m^ouUI^  I  think,  have 
staved  the  strongest  ship's  boat:  but  in  boats  adapted  to  the 
service  it  had  nothing  formidable. 

We  were  received  on  the  beach  by  Captain  Grant,  the  mas- 
ter attendant,  Mr.  Gwatkin,  the  second  commissioner  of  ma- 
rine, and  Mr.  Roy,  the  senior  chaplin;  and  soon  after  joined 
by  the  town-major.  Colonel  Taylor,  who  conducted  us  to  a 
most  comfortable  house  which  government  had  provided  for 
my  accommodation. 

The  time  which  I  passed  in  Madras  was  so  much  occupied 
in  getting  through  a  great  accumulation  of  professional  duties, 
as  well  as  in  receiving  and  paying  visits,  that  I  had  no  time 
to  keep  a  journal.  I  was  pleased  with  my  clergy,  and  found 
myself  on  the  most  friendly  terms  with  them.  The  governor 
and  principal  civil  and  military  functionaries  were  more  than 
civil  and  hospitable;  they  were  most  kind  and  considerate  in 
doing  every  thing  which  could  contribute  to  my  comfort  either 
in  Madras  or  in  the  preparations  for  my  journey.  I  confirm- 
ed 478  persons  in  St.  George's  Church;  and  about  120  more 
at  Poonamallee,  a  station  about  sixteen  miles  oif.  My  visita- 
tion was  attended  by  the  Archdeacon  and  fifteen  clergymen, 
including  the  Church  Missionaries  and  those  of  the  Society  for 
Promoting  Christian  Knowledge.  These  last  being  Lutherans, 
though  episcopally  ordained  in  Denmark,  Bishop  Middleton 
thought  himself  precluded  from  acknowledging  as  Clergymen, 
forbade  them  to  preach  in  any  but  their  own  Churches,  and 
would  not  admit  the  young  Tamulians,  whom  they  had  pre- 
pared, for  confirmation.  In  consequence,  I  had  only  a  small 
number  of  candidates  from  that  nation,  and  those  prepared  by 
the  Church  Missionaries,  but  Dr.  Rottler  said,  that  by  my  re- 
turn to  Madras,  they  should  have,  probably,  150  ready  to  at- 
tend me. 

The  principal  church  in  Madras,  St.  George's,  is  very  beau- 
tiful, and  the  chunam,  particularly,  of  the  inside,  has  an  effect 
little  less  striking  than  the  finest  marble.  The  small  old 
Church  in  the  fort,  (St.  Mary's,)  has  some  good  monuments, 
particularly  one  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  Missionary 
Schwartz,  by  the  East  India  Company,  and  the  Scottish  Church, 
though  of  a  singular  and  injudicious  form  for  the  purpose  of 
hearing,  is  a  very  large  and  stately  building,  fitted  up  with 
much  elegance.  Here,  as  elsewhere  in  India,  I  found  the 
Scots  Clergy  extremely  well  disposed  to  be  on  friendly  terms 
with  those  of  England.  Mr.  I.awrie,  the  junior  minister,  was, 
I  think,  one  of  my  most  constant  auditors  in  the  different 
Churches  v/here  I  preached. 

The  other  buildings  of  Madras  offer  nothing  very  remarka- 
ble J  the  houses  all  stand  in  large  compounds,  scattered  over 


MADRAS.  213 

a  very  great  extent  of  ground,  though  not  quite  so  widely  se- 
parated as  at  Bombay.  There  are  not  many  upper-roomed 
nouses  among  them,  nor  have  I  seen  any  of  three  stories.  The 
soil  is,  happily,  so  dry,  that  people  may  safely  live  and  sleep 
on  the  ground  floor.  I  do  not  think  that  in  size  of  rooms  they 
quite  equal  those  either  of  Calcutta  or  Bombayj  but  they  are 
more  elegant,  and,  to  my  mind,  pleasanter  than  the  majority 
of  either.  The  compounds  are  all  shaded  with  trees  and  di- 
vided by  hedges  of  bamboo,  or  prickly  pear;  against  these 
hedges  several  objections  have  lately  been  made,  on  the  ground 
that  they  intercept  the  breeze,  and  contribute  to  fevers.  I 
know  not  whether  this  charge  has  any  foundation,  but,  if  re- 
moved, they  would  greatly  disfigure  the  place;  and  in  this  arid 
climate,  where  no  grass  can  be  preserved  more  than  a  few 
weeks  after  the  rains,  would  increase  to  an  almost  intolerable 
degree,  a  glare  from  the  sandy  and  rocky  soil,  which  I  already 
found  very  oppressive  and  painful. 

Government-house  is  handsome,  but  falls  short  of  Pareil  in 
convenience,  and  the  splendour  of  the  principal  apartments. 
There  is,  indeed,  one  enormous  banqueting-house,  detached 
from  the  rest  and  built  at  a  great  expense,  but  in  vile  taste, 
and  which  can  be  neither  filled  nor  lighted  to  any  advantage. 
It  contains  some  bad  paintings  of  Coote,  Cornwallis,  Mea- 
dows, and  other  military  heroes,  and  one  of  considerable  me- 
rit, of  Sir  Robert  Strange,  all  fast  going  to  decay  in  the  moist 
sea-breeze,  and  none  of  them,  except  the  last,  deserving  of  a 
longer  life. 

There  are  some  noble  charities  here;  the  military  school  for 
male  and  female  orphans,  where  Dr.  Bell  first  introduced  his 
system,  is  superior  to  any  thing  in  Calcutta,  except  the  upper 
schools  at  Kidderpoor.  "  The  orphan  asylums  in  the  Black 
Town,  though  much  smaller,  put  the  management  of  the  Cal- 
cutta free-school  to  shame;  and  at  Vepery  is  the  finest  Gothic 
Church,  and  the  best  establishment  of  native  schools,  both 
male  and  female,  which  I  have  yet  seen  in  India.  The  native 
Christians  are  numerous  and  increasing,  but  are,  unfortunate- 
ly, a  good  deal  divided  about  castes,  respecting  which  I  have 
to  make  some  regulations,  which  I  have  deferred  till  I  have 
seen  the  missions  in  the  soutlu  The  majority  of  the  Mission- 
aries complain  of  Christian  David  as  intriguing  and  tracassier; 
I  myself  am  not  easily  shaken  in  my  good  opinion  of  him,  and 
I  find  good  old  Dr.  Rottler  thinks  with  me.  I  have,  how- 
ever, obtained  the  appointment  of  a  select  committee  of  the 
Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  to  enquire  into 
the  real  nature  of  the  claims  of  caste  still  subsisting,  and  to 
report  to  me  at  my  return,  which,  with  my  own  enquiries, 
may,  perhaps,  land  us  nearer  the  truth*  I  find  there  is  a  vast 


814  MADRAS. 

deal  to  do  connected  with  the  southern  missions,  and  have  had 
many  intricate  and  important  points  referred  to  me,  both  by 
the  committee.  Dr.  Rottler,  and  Mr.  Haubroe.  My  journey  I 
foresee  will  not  be  a  party  of  pleasure,  but  I  rejoice  that  I 
have  not  delayed  it  any  longer. 

I  also  received  very  uncomfortable  accounts  of  the  new  Sy- 
rian Archbishop  in  Travancore,  who  was  in  open  war  with 
the  English  Missionaries  and  the  two  metropolitans  who  had 
till  now  supported  them.  On  the  whole  I  had  abundant  reason 
to  pray  heartily  for  health,  discretion,  and  firmness,  since  in 
no  part  of  India  had  I  found  so  much  expected  from  me. 

The  Armenians  in  Madras  are  numerous,  and  some  of  them 
wealthy.  Mr.  Sam,  the  principal  of  them,  is  a  very  sensible 
and  well-informed  man,  a  great  traveller,  like  most  of  his  na- 
tion, and  who,  more  than  most  of  his  nation,  has  mixed  and 
still  mixes  in  good  European  society.  He  told  me  some  curi- 
ous particulars  concerning  his  country,  partly  on  his  own  au- 
thority, partly  as  interpreter  to  Mar  Simeon,  a  dignified  ec- 
clesiastic from  a  convent  near  Erivan,  whom  I  met  with  at 
Bombay,  and  who  now  again  called  on  me.  At  Bombay  they 
had  called  him  Bishop,  but  I  nowfoundthathe  was  only  Epis- 
copal Commissary  from  the  Archbishop  of  Shirauz.  I  thought 
him  now,  as  I  had  previously  done  at  Bombay,  a  plain,  mo- 
dest man,  very  grateful  for  attention,  but  far  less  well-inform- 
ed and  interesting  than  Mar  Abraham  of  Jerusalem.  He  told 
rae  what  I  was  glad  to  learn,  that  the  Russians  governed  their 
new  conquests  on  the  side  of  Georgia  very  well  and  justly, 
and  that  the  poor  oppressed  Christians  of  Armenia  earnestly 
prayed  that  they  also  might  become  the  subjects  of  the  Empe- 
ror, instead  of  Persia  and  Turkey.  He  too,  as  well  as  Mar 
Abraham  and  the  Archbishop  Athanasius,  expressed  a  desire 
to  attend  the  English  Church  service,  and  accordingly  came 
the  day  on  which  I  administered  confirmation. 

On  the  whole  I  cannot  but  hope  that  many  good  effects  may 
arise  from  this  approximation  in  courtesy,  &c.  of  the  Eastern 
Churches  to  our  ownj  when  they  find  that  we  desire  no  domi- 
nion over  them,  they  may  gradually  be  led  to  imitate  us.  But 
it  is  painful  to  see  how  slight  causes,  as  in  the  case  of  Atha- 
nasius, may  endanger  this  alliance. 

During  my  stay  at  Madras,  I  paid  a  visit  to  the  Prince 
Azeem  Khan,  uncle  and  guardian  to  the  Nawab  of  the  Car- 
natic,  who  is  an  infant.  All  my  clergy  accompanied  me  in 
their  gowns,  and  we  were  received  with  as  much  state  as  this 
little  court  could  muster,  but  which  need  not  be  described,  as 
it  did  not  vary  from  that  of  other  Mussulman  princes,  and 
reminded  me  very  much  of  Dacca  on  a  larger  scale.  I  was 
chiefly  struck  with  the  great  number  of  "  Ullemah,"  learned 


MADRAS.  215 

men,  or  at  least  persons  in  the  white  dress  of  Mussulman  Ul- 
lemah,  whom  we  found  there. 

While  I  was  conversing,  to  the  best  of  my  power,  with  the 
Prince,  Mr.  Robinson  was  talking  with  some  of  these,  who 
asked  many  curious  questions  about  our  Clergy,  whether  all 
those  whom  they  saw  had  come  with  me  from  Calcutta,  whe- 
ther our  Clergy  could  marry,  whether  I  was  married,  and 
whether  I  was  appointed  to  my  office  by  the  Company  or  the 
King.  I  rose,  visibly,  in  their  estimation  by  being  told  the 
latter,  but  they  expressed  their  astonishment  that  I  wore  no 
beard,  observing,  with  much  truth,  that  our  learned  men  lost 
much  dignity  and  authority  by  the  effeminate  custom  of  shav- 
ing. They  also  asked  if  I  was  the  head  of  all  the  English 
Church;  and  on  being  told  that  I  was  the  head  in  India,  but 
that  there  was  another  Clergyman  in  England  superior  to  me; 
the  question  was  then  again  asked,  ''  and  does  not  he  wear  a 
beard?"  Near  the  place  where  I  sate  a  discussion  arose, 
whether  my  office  answered  to  any  among  the  Mussulmans, 
and  it  was  at  length  determined  that  I  was  precisely  what 
they  term  "  Moostahid." 

This  was  one  of  my  last  performances  in  Madras,  where, 
indeed,  I  was  almost  worn  out,  having  preached,  (reckoning 
charge  and  confirmation  addresses,)  eleven  times  in  little 
more  than  a  fortnight,  besides  presiding  at  a  large  meeting  of 
the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  visiting  six 
schools,  giving  too  large  dinner  parties,  and  receiving  and 
paying  visits  innumerable.  Had  I  also  had  to  make  the  ar- 
rangements for  my  journey,  I  should  have  been  quite  tired 
out;  but  here  Mr.  Robinson  and  Colonel  Taylor  left  me  little 
to  do. 

The  Madras  servants  I  had  heard  highly  praised,  but  I  think 
beyond  their  merits;  they  are  not  by  any  means  so  cleanly  as 
those  of  Bengal,  nor  do  I  think  them  so  intelligent.  The 
English  which  they  speak  is  so  imperfect,  that  it  is  sometimes 
worse  than  nothing;  and  few  of  them  know  any  thing  of  Hin- 
doostanee.  In  honesty  both  seem  pretty  much  on  a  par;  the 
expenses  of  Madras  very  far  exceed  those  of  Calcutta,  except 
house  rent,  which  is  much  less. 

It  was  very  pleasant  to  hear  Sir  Charles  Gray  so  universally 
spoken  of  with  respect  and  atFection;  and  though  I  had  not 
the  same  personal  interest  in  his  praise,  it  was  interesting  to 
find  only  one  voice  about  Sir  Thomas  Munro,  whose  talents, 
steadiness,  and  justice,  seemed  admitted  by  every  body;  he 
is  a  fine,  dignified  old  soldier,  with  a  very  strong  and  original 
understanding,  and  a  solid  practical  judgment;  he  is  excel- 
lently adapted  for  the  situation  which  he  holds;  and  his  popu- 
larity is,  perhaps,  the  more  honourable  to  him,  because  nii 


216  MADRAS. 

manners,   though  unaffected  and  simple,   are  reserved  and 
grave,  at  least  on  a  first  acquaintance. 

The  climate  of  Madras  1  found  decidedly  hotter  at  this 
season  than  the  March  which  I  spent  in  Calcutta^  the  nights, 
however,  were  cool,  and  it  should  be  noticed  that  people 
spoke  of  the  season  as  unusually  sultry,  and  complained  of 
the  great  want  of  rain.  What  I  saw,  therefore,  was  not  to  be 
taken  as  a  fair  specimen  of  Madras  heat  and  aridity. 

Mr.  Robinson  and  I  left  Madras  on  the  afternoon  of  Mon- 
day, the  13th,  having  sent  on  our  baggage,  horses,  and  ser- 
vants on  the  preceding  Saturday,  under  the  care  of  Captain 
Harkness,  the  officer  commanding  my  escort.  We  went  in 
a  carriage  to  the  military  station  of  St.  Thomas's  Mount, 
eight  miles  from  Madras,  intending  in  our  way,  to  visit  the 
spot  marked  out  by  tradition  as  the  place  w^here  the  Apostle 
St.  Thomas  was  martyred.  Unfortunately  the  "  little  mount," 
as  this  is  called,  (being  a  small  rocky  knoll  with  a  Roman 
Catholic  Church  on  it,  close  to  Marmalong  bridge  in  the 
suburb  of  Meilapoor,)  is  so  insignificant,  and  so  much  nearer 
Madras  that  we  had  been  given  to  understand,  that  it  did  not 
attract  our  attention  till  too  late.  That  it  is  really  the  place 
I  see  no  good  reason  for  doubting;  there  is  as  fair  historical 
evidence  as  the  case  requires,  that  St.  Thomas  preached  the 
Gospel  in  India,  and  was  martyred  at  a  placed  named  Millia- 
poor  or  Meilapoor.  The  eastern  Christians,  whom  the  Por- 
tuguese found  in  India,  all  agreed  in  marking  out  this  as  the 
spot,  and  in  saying  that  the  bones,  originally  buried  here,  had 
been  carried  away  as  relics  to  Syria.  They,  and  even  the 
surrounding  heathen,  appear  to  have  always  venerated  the 
spot,  as  these  last  still  do,  and  to  have  offered  gifts  here 
on  the  supposed  anniversary  of  his  martyrdom.  And  as  the 
story  contains  nothing  improbable,  from  beginning  to  end, 
(except  a  trumpery  fabrication  of  some  relics  found  here  by 
the  Portuguese  monks  about  a  century  and  a  half  ago,)  so  it 
is  not  easy  to  account  for  the  origin  of  such  a  story  among 
men  of  different  religions,  unless  there  were  some  foundation 
for  it. 

I  know  it  has  been  sometimes  fancied  that  the  person  who 
planted  Christianity  in  India,  was  a  Nestorian  Bishop  named 
Thomas,  not  St.  Thomas  the  Apostle,  but  this  rests,  abso- 
lutely, on  no  foundation  but  a  supposition,  equally  gratuitous 
and  contrary  to  all  early  ecclesiastical  history,  that  none  of 
the  Apostles  except  St.  Paul  went  far  from  Judea.  To  this  it  is 
enough  to  answer  that  we  have  no  reason  why  they  should  wo^ 
have  done  so;  or  why^  while  St.  Paul  went,  (or  intended  to 
go,)  to  the  shores  of  the  furthest  west,  St.  Thomas  should  not 
have  been  equally  laborious  and  enterprising  in  an  opposite 


ST.  Thomas's  mount.  217 

direction.  But  that  all  the  apostles,  except  the  two  St.  James's, 
did  really  go  forth  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  different  parts  of 
the  world,  as  it  was,  a  priori,  to  be  expected,  so  that  they  did 
so  we  have  the  authority  of  Eusebius  and  the  old  Martyrolo- 
gies,  which  is,  at  least,  as  good  as  the  doubts  of  a  later  age, 
and  which  would  be  reckoned  conclusive  if  the  question  re- 
lated to  any  point  of  civil  history.  Nor  must  it  be  forgotten, 
that  there  were  Jews  settled  in  India  at  a  very  early  period, 
to  convert  whom  v^^ould  naturally  induce  an  apostle  to  think 
of  coming  hither;  that  the  passage,  either  from  the  Persian 
Gulph  or  the  Red  Sea  is  neither  long  nor  difficult,  and  was 
then  extremely  common;  and  that  it  may  be,  therefore,  as 
readily  believed  that  St.  Thomas  was  slain  at  Meilapoor,  as 
that  St  Paul  w^as  beheaded  at  Rome,  or  that  Leonidas  fell  at 
Thermopylae;  Under  these  feelings  I  left  the  spot  behind 
with  regret,  and  shall  visit  it  if  I  return  to  Madras,  with  a 
reverent,  though  I  hope,  not  a  superstitious  interest  and  cu- 
riosity- 

The  larger  mount,  as  it  is  called,  of  St.  Thomas,  is  a  much 
more  striking  spot,  being  an  insulated  cliff"  of  granite,  with  an 
old  Church  on  the  summit,  the  property  of  those  Armenians 
who  are  united  to  the  Church  of  Rome.  It  is  also  dedicated 
to  St.  Thomas,  but,  (what  greatly  proves  the  authenticity  of 
its  rival,)  none  of  the  sects  of  Christians  or  Hindoos  consider 
it  as  having  been  in  any  remarkable  manner  graced  by  his 
presence  or  burial.  It  is  a  picturesque  little  building,  and 
commands  a  fine  view.  We  went  up  to  it  with  Mr.  Hallo- 
well,  the  Chaplain  of  the  station  at  its  foot  which  is  Ihe  prin- 
cipal cantonment  for  artillery  belonging  to  the  Madras  army. 

Government  are  building  a  handsome  Church  here  in  a  very 
advantageous  situation,  immediately  at  the  foot  of  the  mount, 
and  with  some  noble  trees  round  it.  The  foundation  is  now 
laid,  and,  w^hen  finished,  it  will  have  its  chancel  westward 
instead  of  eastward,  a  peculiarity  which  I  found  many  per- 
sons were  offended  at,  but  which  I  did  not  think  worth  alter- 
ing, inasmuch  as  this  method  of  placing  the  building  suited 
best  in  point  of  effect  and  convenience.  There  is  no  canon 
that  I  know  of  for  placing  Churches  with  the  altars  eastward; 
and  though  this  custom  is,  certainly,  most  ancient  and  usual, 
there  have  been  many  remarkable  exceptions  to  it  from  the 
Cathedral  of  Antioch,  built  in  the  age  immediately  succeeding 
the  Apostles,  down  to  St.  Peter's  in  Rome,  which  has  also  its 
sanctuary  westward. 

The  cantonment  is  very  beautifully  placed,  with  a  noble 
parade-ground  planted  with  fine  trees,  and  its  rocky  back 

f round  and  other  circumstances  give  it  a  great  advantage  over 
>um  Dum.     It  is  also  reckoned  one  of  the  most  wholesome 


218  SCENERY  ON  THE  COAST  OF  COROMANDEL, 

spots  in  the  south  of  India,  being  considerably  elevated  above 
the  sea,  and  enjoying  the  breeze  in  much  perfection. 

After  drinking  tea  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hallowell,  we  got 
into  our  palanqueens,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Doran,  one  of  the 
Church  Missionaries,  who  is  to  be  placed  at  Cotyam,  in  Tra- 
vancore,  and  who  had  been  before  with  me  in  Calcutta.  I 
asked  him  to  join  my  party  in  this  journey,  both  as  it  was  a 
great  advantage  and  convenience  to  him,  and  as  it  gave  me 
the  opportunity  ofgroundinghim  thoroughly  in  my  views  with 
regard  to  the  management  to  be  observed  with  the  Syrian 
Churches,  among  whom  he  would  have  to  labour.  Govern- 
ment kindly  supplied  him  with  the  loan  of  a  tent  in  the  cha- 
racter of  my  second  Chaplain,  and  I  look  forwards  to  no  in- 
convenience but  rather  pleasure  from  his  society.  He  is  a 
young  Irishman,  educated  at  Trinity  College,  an  extremely 
good  scholar,  and  of  a  modest  and  gentle  character  and  man- 
ners; who  is,  however,  a  mere  child  in  all  matters  of  prudence 
and  worldly  management,  and  if  he  had  got  into  proper  hands 
on  first  coming  to  India,  would  have  been  likely  to  fall  into 
enthusiasm.  As  it  is,  I  heartily  hope  that  he  will  be  a  valu- 
able accession  to  the  Church  in  this  country. 

We  travelled  all  night,  a  practice  which  I  am  not  fond  of, 
but  which  circumstances  rendered  desirable,  and,  exactly  at 
day -break,  reached  the  rocky  beach  below  the  seven  pagodas, 
and  where  the  surf,  according  to  the  Hindoos,  rolls  and  roars 
over  *'the  city  of  the  great  Bali.*'  One  very  old  temple  of 
Vishnu  stands  immediately  on  the  brink,  and  amid  the  dash 
of  the  spray,  and  there  are  really  some  small  remains  of  ar- 
chitecture, among  which  a  tall  pillar,  supposed  by  some  to  be 
a  lingam,  is  conspicuous,  which  rise  from  amid  the  waves,  and 
give  a  proof  that,  in  this  particular  spot,  (as  at  Madras,)  the 
sea  has  encroached  on  the  land,  though  in  most  other  parts  of 
the  Coromandel  coast  it  seems  rather  receding  than  advancing. 
There  are  also  many  rocks  rising  through  the  white  breakers, 
which  the  fancy  of  the  brahmins  points  out  as  ruins,  and  the 
noise  of  the  surf,  the  dark  shadov/  of  the  remaining  building, 
the  narrow  slip  of  dark  smooth  sand,  the  sky  just  reddening 
into  dawn  and  lending  its  tints  to  the  sea,  together  with  the 
remarkable  desolation  of  the  surrounding  scenery,  were  well 
calculated  to  make  one  remember  with  interest  the  descrip- 
tion in  Kehama,  and  to  fancy  that  one  saw  the  beautiful  form 
of  Kailyal  in  her  white  mantle  pacing  sadly  along  the  shore, 
and  watching  till  her  father  and  lover  should  emerge  from  the 
breakers.  In  two  points  the  picture  only  fails;  the  caverns 
in  which  she  was  to  lodge  at  night  are,  at  least,  a  mile  from 
high-water  mark,  and  in  this  climate  it  is  at  noon-day  only, 
not  as  a  bed-chamber,  that  a  cavern  will  be  preferred  to  the 


CITr  OF  MAHA-BALI-POOR.  219 

open  air.     I  made  a  sketch  of  the  scenej  but  it  is  one  of  those 
which  is  nothing  except  in  the  hand  of  a  painter. 

The  case  is  otherwise  with  the  real  city  of  Maha-Bali-poor, 
whose  ruins  stand  among  the  cliffs  at  the  distance  of  a  short 
half  mile  inland.  This  has  really  been  a  place  of  considera- 
ble importance  as  a  metropolis  of  the  ancient  kings  of  the  race 
of  Pandion,  and  its  rocks,  which  within  themselves  are  pretty 
and  picturesque,  are  carved  out  into  porticos,  temples,  bas- 
reliefs,  &c.  on  a  much  smaller  scale,  indeed,  than  Elephanta 
or  Kennery,  but  some  of  them  very  beautifully  executed. 
They  dift'er  from  those  of  the  north  and  west  of  India,  (which 
are  almost  all  dedicated  to  Siva  or  Kali,)  in  being  in  honour 
of  Vishnu,  whose  dift'erent  avatars  are  repeated  over  and  over 
in  the  various  temples,  while  I  only  saw  the  solitary  lingam, 
if  it  be  one,  which  I  have  mentioned,  in  the  sea,  and  one  un- 
finished cave  which  struck  me  as  intended  for  a  temple  of  the 
destroying  power. 

Many  of  the  bas-reliefs  are  of  great  spirit  and  beauty;  there 
is  one  of  an  elephant  with  two  young  ones  strikingly  execut- 
ed; and  tlie  general  merit  of  the  work  is  superior  to  that  of 
Elephanta,  though  the  size  is  extremely  inferior.  I  had  heard 
much  of  the  lions  which  are  introduced  in  different  parts  of 
the  series,  and  the  execution  of  which  was  said  to  be  more  re- 
markable because  no  lions  are  known  to  exist  in  the  south  of  In- 
dia. But  I  apprehend  that  the  critics  who  have  thus  praised 
them  have  taken  their  idea  of  a  lion  from  those  noble  animals 
which  hang  over  inn-doors  in  England,  and  which,  it  must  be 
owned,  the  lions  of  Maha-Bali-poor  very  remarkably  resemble; 
they  are,  in  fact,  precisely  such  animals  as  an  artist,  who  had 
never  seen  one,  would  form  from  description. 

Notwithstanding  the  supposed  connexion  of  these  ruins 
with  the  great  Bali,  I  only  saw  one  bas-relief  which  has  re- 
ference to  his  story,  and  which  has  considerable  merit.  It 
represents  Bali  seated  on  his  throne,  and  apparently  shrink- 
ing in  terror  at  the  moment  when  Vishnu,  dismissing  his  dis- 
guise of  a  brahmin  dwarf  under  which  he  had  asked  "the  king 
of  the  three  worlds"  to  grant  him  three  paces  of  his  kingdom, 
appears  in  his  celestial  and  gigantic  form,  striding  from  earth 
to  heaven,  and  ''wielding  all  weapons  in  his  countless  hands," 
over  the  head  of  the  unfortunate  Raja,  who,  giant  as  he  him- 
self is  said  to  have  been,  is  represented  as  a  mere  Lillyputian 
in  the  presence  of  "the  preserving  deity."  These  ruins  cover 
a  great  space;  a  few  small  houses  inhabited  by  brahmins  are 
scattered  amongst  them,  and  there  is  one  large  and  handsome 
temple  of  Vishnu  of  later  date  and  in  pretty  good  repair,  the 
priests  of  which  chiefly  live  by  showing  the  ruins.  One  of 
them  acted  as  our  Cicerone,  and  seemed  the  only  person  in 

Vol.  II.— 19 


220  SADRAS. 

the  place  who  spoke  Hindoostanee.  Two  boys  preceded  U9 
with  a  pipe  and  a  small  pair  of  cymbals,  and  their  appearance 
among  these  sculptures  was  very  picturesque  and  appropriate. 

After  about  two  hours  spent  in  Maha-Bali-poor,  or,  as  the 
Tamul  pronunciation  makes  it,  Mavellipooram,  we  again  got 
into  our  palanqueens,  and  went  on  to  Sadras,  a  spot  about  a 
mile  beyond,  where  our  tents  and  servants  were  expecting  us, 
and  where  we  found  our  companions,  Captain  Harkness  and 
Dr.  Hyne. 

Sadras  is  a  large  but  poor-looking  town,  once  a  Dutch  set- 
tlement, and  still  containing  many  families  of  decayed  burgh- 
ers, like  those  of  Ceylon,  the  melancholy  relics  of  a  ruined 
factory.  Some  of  them  have  little  pensions  from  the  charity 
of  the  British  government,  and  there  is  a  Dutch  missionary, 
a  very  poor  and  modest,  and  apparently,  a  good  man,  who 
lives  among  them,  does  duty  in  Dutch  and  Portuguese,  and 
has  a  little  school  for  both  Christian  and  Heathen  children. 
His  salary  is  paid  by  a  religious  society  in  the  Netherlands. 
A  small  old  pagoda  is  in  the  entrance  of  the  town,  whose  prin- 
cipal inmates,  the  presiding  brahmin  and  the  dancing-girU 
followed  me  to  my  tent.  This  was  the  first  specimen  whicli 
I  had  seen  of  the  southern  Bayadere,  who  differ  considerably 
from  the  nach  girls  of  northern  India,  being  all  in  the  service 
of  different  temples,  for  which  they  are  purchased  young  and 
brought  up  with  a  degree  of  care  which  is  seldom  bestowed 
on  the  females  of  India  of  any  other  class.  This  care  not 
only  extends  to  dancing  and  singing,  and  the  other  allurements 
of  their  miserable  profession,  but  to  reading  and  writing. 
Their  dress  is  lighter  than  the  bundles  of  red  cloth  which  swad- 
dle the  figurante  of  Hindostan,  and  their  dancing  is  said  to 
be  more  indecent,  but  their  general  appearance  and  manner 
seemed  to  me  far  from  immodest,  and  their  air  even  more  re- 
spectable than  the  generality  of  the  lower  classes  of  India. 
The  poor  girl  whom  I  saw  at  Sadras,  making  allowance  for  the 
difference  of  costume  and  complexion,  might  have  passed  for 
a  smart,  but  modest,  English  maid-servant.  The  money  which 
they  acquire  in  the  practice  of  their  profession  is  hallowed  to 
their  wicked  gods,  whose  ministers  are  said  to  turn  them  out 
w^ithout  remorse,  or  with  a  very  scanty  provision,  when  age  or 
sickness  renders  them  unfit  for  their  occupation.  Most  of 
them,  however,  die  young.  Surely  the  more  one  sees  of  this 
hideous  idolatry,  the  more  one  must  abhor  it,  and  bless  God  for 
having  taught  us  better.  I  had  heard  that  the  bayaderes  were 
regarded  with  respect  among  the  other  classes  of  Hindoos,  as 
servants  of  the  gods,  and  that,  after  a  few  years'  service,  they 
often  married  respectably.  But,  though  I  made  several  en- 
quiries, I  cannot  find  that  this  is  the  case;  their  name  is  a 


BAYADERES.  221 

common  term  of  reproach  among  the  women  of  the  country, 
nor  could  any  man  of  decent  caste  marry  one  cf  their  number. 
Yet  the  gods  are  honoured  who  receive  such  sacrifices !  I  have 
always  looked  on  these  poor  creatures  with  no  common  feel- 
ings of  sorrow  and  pity. 

Our  little  camp  was  on  the  sea-shore,  about  two  miles  be- 
yond the  town  of  Sadras,  and  I  found  abundant  reason  to  ac- 
knowledge the  liberal  kindness  of  government  in  the  number 
and  excellence  of  the  tents,  camels,  and  elephants,  which  they 
had  provided  for  me. 

March  15. — We  set  out  this  morning  at  half  past  three, 
and  rode  over  a  very  sandy,  but  rather  pretty  country,  much 
resembling  the  coast  of  Ceylon,  being  covered  with  coco  and 
palmyra-trees,  and  intersected  with  several  streams. 


eORRESPONDENCE. 


TO  THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE  CHARLES  W.  WILLIAMS  WYNN. 

Barrackpoar,  October  29th, ,  1823. 
My  DEAR  Wynn, 

The  first  quiet  morning  which  I  have  had  since  my  arrival 
in  India,  I  cannot  employ  more  agreeably  than  in  writing  to 
those  dear  and  kind  friends,  the  recollection  of  whom  I  feel 
binding  me  still  more  strongly  to  England,  the  farther  I  am 
removed  from  it 

The  first  sight  of  India  has  little  which  can  please  even 
those  who  have  been  three  months  at  sea.  The  coast  is  so  flat 
as  only  to  be  distinguished,  when  very  near  it,  by  the  tall 
coco-trees  which  surround  the  villages;  and  Juggernauth, 
which  is  a  conspicuous  sea-mark,  shows  merely  three  dingy 
conical  domes,  like  glass-houses.  The  view  of  Saugor  is  still 
worse,  being  made  up  of  marshes  and  thick  brushwood,  on  the 
same  level  line  of  shore,  and  conveying  at  once  the  idea, 
which  it  well  deserves,  of  tygers,  serpents  and  fevers.  Dur- 
ing the  night  of  our  anchoring  under  its  lee,  however,  few  of 
us  went  to  bed  without  reluctance,  since,  besides  the  interest 
which  men  feel  in  looking  on  land  at  all,  after  so  long  an  ab- 
sence, I  never  saw  such  magnificent  sheet-lightning  in  my 
life  as  played  over  it  all  night.  When  coupled  with  the  un- 
healthy and  dangerous  character  of  the  place,  and  the  super- 
stitions connected  with  it  as  the  favourite  abode  of  Kali,  it  was 
impossible  to  watch  the  broad,  red,  ominous  light,  which 
flickered  without  more  intermission  than  just  served  to 
heighten  its  contrast  with  darkness,  and  not  to  think  of 
Southey's  Padalon;  and  it  luckily  happened  that  ''Kehama" 
was  on  board,  and  that  many  of  the  party,  at  my  recommen- 
dation, had  become  familiar  with  it  during  the  voyage.  By 
the  way,  what  a  vast  deal  of  foolish  prejudice  exists  about 
Southey  and  his  writings.  Of  the  party  on  board  some  had 
been  taught  to  think  him  a  Jacobin,  some  an  UltraTory,  some  a 
Methodist,  some  an  enemy  to  all  religion,  and  some  a  mad- 
man. None  had  read  a  line  of  his  works,  but  all  were  inclin- 
ed to  criticise  him,  and  yet  all,  when  they  really  tried  the 
formidable  volume,  were  delighted  both  with  the  man  and  the 
poetry.  Nor  is  he  the  only  poet  for  whom  I  succeeded  in  ob- 
taining some  justice.  I  repeated  at  different  times  some  parts 
of  the  *'  Ancient  Mariner,"  without  telling  whose  it  was,  and 

19* 


224  CORRESPONDENCE. 

had  the  pleasure  to  find  that  its  descriptions  of  natural  objects 
in  tropical  countries,  were  recognised  by  the  officers,  and 
more  experienced  passengers,  as  extremely  vivid,  and  scarcely 
exaggerated.  The  chief-mate,  a  very  hard-headed  Scotsman, 
a  grandson  of  Lord  Monboddo's,  was  peculiarly  struck,  and 
downright  affected,  with  the  shrinking  of  the  planks  of  the 
devoted  ship  when  becalmed  under  the  line,  tlie  stagnation 
and  rolling  of  the  deep,  and  the  diminished  size,  and  terrible 
splendour  of  the  noon-day  sun,  right  over  the  mast-head,  ''  in 
a  hot  and  copper  sky."  He  foretold  that  we  should  see  some- 
thing like  this  when  the  Grenville  came  to  anchor  in  the 
Hooghly;  and  verily  he  fabled  not.  The  day  after  our  arrival 
off  Saugor  the  sun  was  indeed  a  thing  of  terror,  and  almost  in- 
tolerable; and  the  torrent,  carrying  down  trees,  sugar-canes 
and  corpses  past  us  every  five  minutes,  and  boiling  as  it  met 
the  tide  stream,  like  milled  chocolate,  with  its  low  banks  of 
jungle,  or  of  bare  sand,  was  as  little  promising  to  a  new 
comer  as  could  well  be  conceived.  Of  these  different  objects, 
the  corpses,  as  you  are  aware,  are  a  part  of  the  filthy  super- 
stition of  the  country,  which  throws  the  dead,  half-roasted 
over  a  scanty  fire,  into  the  sacred  river;  and  such  objects  must 
always  be  expected  and  perceived  by  more  senses  than  one. 
The  others  though  also  usual  at  the  termination  of  the  rains, 
were  this  year  particularly  abundant,  from  the  great  height  to 
which  the  river  had  risen,  and  the  consequent  desolation 
which  it  had  brought  on  the  lower  plantations  and  villages. 

We  arrived  in  Fort  William  on  the  evening  of  the  10th. 
The  impression  made  by  the  appearance  of  the  European 
houses  which  we  passed  in  Garden-reach,  by  our  own  apart- 
ments, by  the  crowd  of  servants,  the  style  of  the  carriages 
and  horses  sent  to  meet  us,  and  almost  all  the  other  circum- 
stances which  met  our  eyes,  was  that  of  the  extreme  similarity 
of  every  thing  to  Russia,  making  allowance  only  for  the  black 
instead  of  the  white  faces,  and  the  difference  of  climate, 
though  even  in  Russia,  during  summer,  it  is  necessary  to 
guard  against  intense  heat.  This  impression  w'as  afterward* 
rather  confirmed  than  weakened.  The  size  of  the  houses, 
their  whiteness  and  Palladian  porticos,  the  loftiness  of  the 
rooms,  and  the  scanty  furniture, — the  unbounded  hospitality 
and  apparent  love  of  display,  all  reminded  me  of  Petersburgh 
and  Moscow;  to  which  the  manner  in  which  the  European 
houses  are  scattered,  with  few  regular  streets,  but  each  with 
its  separate  court-yard  and  gate-way,  and  often  intermixed 
with  miserable  huts,  still  more  contributed. 

I  caught  myself  several  times  mixing  Russian  with  mj 
newly  acquired  Hindoostanee,  talking  of  rubles  instead  of 
rupees,  and  bidding  the  attendants  come  and  go  in  what  they 


CORRESPONDENCE.  22S 

of  course,  mistook  for  English,  but  which  was  Sclavonic.  I 
was  surprised  to  find  how  little  English  is  understood  bj  them; 
out  of  upwards  of  forty  servants,  there  are  only  two  who  have 
the  least  smattering  of  it,  and  they  know  a  few  of  the  com- 
monest words,  without  the  power  of  putting  together  or  un- 
derstanding a  sentence.  The  sircar,  indeed,  is  a  well-edu- 
cated man;  but  of  him  we  see  comparatively  little,  so  that  we 
have  abundant  opportunity  and  necessity  for  the  acquisition 
of  the  native  languages.  After  a  manner,  indeed,  every  body 
speaks  them,  but  we  find,  (I  must  say,)  our  previous  instruc- 
tions in  grammar  from  Gilchrist  extremely  valuable,  both  as 
facilitating  our  progress,  and  as  guarding  us  from  many  ridi- 
culous equivoques  and  blunders  into  which  other  griffins 
fall 

My  situation  here  is  extremely  pleasant,  as  pleasant  as  it 
can  be  at  a  distance  from  such  friends  as  those  whom  I  have 
left  behind,  and  I  have  a  field  of  usefulness  before  me,  so  vast 
that  my  only  fear  is  lest  I  should  lose  my  way  in  it.  The  at- 
tention and  the  kindness  of  the  diiferent  members  of  govern- 
ment, and  the  hospitality  of  the  society  of  Calcutta,  have 
been  every  thing  we  could  wish  and  more.  The  arrears  of 
business  which  I  have  to  go  through,  though  great,  and  some 
of  a  vexatious  nature,  are  such  as  I  see  my  way  through.  My 
own  health,  and  those  of  my  wife  and  child,  have  rather  im- 
proved than  otherwise  since  our  landing,  and  the  climate,  now 
that  we  have  lofty  rooms  and  means  of  taking  exercise  at  pro- 
per times  of  the  aay,  is  any  thing  but  intolerable 

Of  what  are  called  in  England  "  the  luxuries  of  the  east," 
I  cannot  give  a  very  exalted  description;  all  the  fruits  now  in 
season  are  inferior  to  those  of  England.  The  oranges,  though 
pleasant,  are  small  and  acid;  the  plantain  is  but  an  indiiBTerent 
mellow  pear;  the  shaddock  has  no  merit  but  juicyness  and  a 
slight  bitter  taste  which  is  reckoned  good  in  fevers,  and  the 
euava  is  an  almost  equal  mixture  of  raspberry  jam  and  garlic. 
Nor  are  our  artificial  luxuries  more  remarkable  than  our  na- 
tural. They  are  in  fact,  only  inventions,  (judicious  and  ele- 
gant certainly,)  to  get  rid  of  real  and  severe  inconveniences, 
while  all  those  circumstances  in  which  an  Englishman  mainly 
places  his  ideas  of  comfort  or  splendour,  such  as  horses,  car- 
riages, glass,  furniture,  &c.  are,  in  Calcutta,  generally  paltry 
and  extravagantly  dear.  In  fact,  as  my  shipmate  Colonel  Pen- 
nington truly  told  me,  "  the  real  luxuries  of  India,  when  we 
can  get  them,  are  cold  water  and  cold  air. "  But  though  the  luxu- 
ry and  splendour  are  less,  the  society  is  better  than  I  expected. 
The  state  in  which  the  high  officers  of  government  appear, 
and  the  sort  of  deference  paid  to  them  iu  society,  are  great 


226  CORRESPONDENCE. 

and  said  to  be  necessary  in  conformity  with  native  ideas,  and 
the  example  set  by  the  first  conquerors,  who  took  their  tone 
from  the  Mussulmans  whom  they  supplanted.  All  members 
of  council  and  others,  down  to  the  rank  of  puisne  judges  in- 
clusive, are  preceded  by  two  men  with  silver-sticks,  and  two 
others  with  heavy  silver  maces,  and  they  have  in  society  some 
queer  regulations,  which  forbid  any  person  to  quit  a  party 

before  the  lady  or  gentleman  of  most  rank  rises  to  take  leave. 

•*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

There  are  some  circumstances  in  Calcutta  dwellings  which 
at  first  surprise  and  annoy  a  stranger.  The  lofty  rooms  swarm 
with  cockroaches  and  insects;  sparrows  and  other  birds  fly  in 
and  out  all  day,  and  as  soon  as  the  candles  are  lighted,  large  bats 
flutter  on  their  indented  wings,  like  Horace's  cura,  round  our 
laqueata  tecta,  if  this  name  could  be  applied  to  roofs  without 
any  ceiling  at  all,  where  the  beams  are  left  naked  and  visi- 
ble, lest  the  depredations  of  the  white  ant  should  not  be  seen 

in  time. 

*  *  *  *  *    ,        *  * 

On  the  whole,  however,  you  will  judge  from  my  description 
that  I  have  abundant  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  my  present 
comforts  and  my  future  prospects,  and  that  in  the  field  which 
seems  open  to  me  for  extensive  usefulness  and  active  employ- 
ment, 1  have  more  and  more  reason  to  be  obliged  to  the  friend 
who  has  placed  me  here. 

The  country  round  Calcutta  is  a  perfect  flat,  intersected  by 
pools  and  canals,  natural  and  artificial,  teeming  with  popula- 
tion like  an  ant-hill,  and  covered  with  one  vast  shade  of  fruit 
trees,  not  of  low  growth  like  those  of  England,  but,  generally 
speaking,  very  lofty  and  majestic.  To  me  it  has  great  inte- 
rest; indeed  such  a  scene  as  I  have  described,  with  the  addi- 
tion of  a  majestic  river,  may  be  monotonous  but  cannot  be  ugly. 

Barrackpoor,  the  governor's  country  house,  is  really  a  beau- 
tiful place,  and  would  be  thought  so  in  any  country.  It  has 
what  is  here  unexampled,  a  park  of  about  150  acres  of  fine 
turf,  with  spreading  scattered  trees,  of  a  character  so  Euro- 
pean, that  if  I  had  not  been  on  an  elephant,  and  had  not  from 
time  to  time  seen  a  tall  coco-tree  towering  above  all  the  rest, 
I  could  have  fancied  myself  on  the  banks  of  the  Thames  in- 
stead of  the  Ganges.  It  is  hence  that  I  date  my  letter,  hav- 
ing been  asked  to  pass  two  days  here.  Our  invitation  was  for 
a  considerably  longer  period,  but  it  is  as  yet  with  difficulty 

that  I  can  get  away  even  for  a  few  hours  from  Calcutta. 

*  *  *  *  *  ■*  * 

Of  the  religious  state  of  India  I  have  little  as  yet  to  say.  I 
have  bestowed  the  archdeaconry,  much  to  my  satisfaction,  on 


CORRESPONDENCE*  227 

the  senior  resident  chaplain,  Mr.  Corrie,  who  is  extremely 
popular  in  the  place,  and  one  of  the  most  amiable  and  gentle- 
manly men  in  manners  and  temper  I  ever  met  with. 

sfv  vfr  ^  -iC  JJc  y^  ^t 

In  the  schools  which  have  been  lately  established  in  this  part 
of  the  empire,  of  which  there  are  at  present  nine  established 
by  the  Church  Missionary,  and  eleven  by  the  Christian  Know- 
ledge Societies,  some  very  unexpected  facts  have  occurred. 
As  all  direct  attempts  to  convert  the  children  are  disclaimed, 
the  parents  send  them  without  scruple.  But  it  is  no  less 
strange  than  true,  that  there  is  no  objection  made  to  the  use  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testament  as  a  class  book;  that  so  long  as 
the  teachers  do  not  urge  them  to  eat  what  will  make  them  lose 
their  caste,  or  to  be  baptized,  or  to  curse  their  country's  gods, 
they  readily  consent  to  every  thing  else,  and  not  only  Mus- 
sulmans but  Brahmins  stand  by  with  perfect  coolness,  and 
listen  sometimes  with  apparent  interest  and  pleasure,  while 
the  scholars,  by  the  road  side,  are  reading  the  stories  of  the 
creation  and  of  Jesus  Christ.  Whether  the  children  them- 
selves may  imbibe  Christianity  by  such  means,  or  whether 
they  may  suffer  these  truths  to  pass  from  their  minds,  as  we 
allow  the  mythology  which  we  learn  at  school  to  pass  from 
ours,  some  further  time  is  yet  required  to  show,  but  this,  at 
least,  I  understand  has  been  ascertained,  that  a  more  favour- 
able opinion,  both  of  us  and  our  religion,  has  been,  apparent- 
ly, felt  of  late  by  many  of  those  who  have  thus  been  made  ac- 
quainted with  its  leading  truths,  and  that  some  have  been 
heard  to  say,  that  they  did  not  know  till  now  that  the  English 
had  "  a  caste  or  a  shaster."  You  may  imagine  with  what  feel- 
ings I  have  entered  the  huts  vyhere  these  schools  are  held,  on 
seeing  a  hundred  poor  little  children  seated  on  the  ground, 
writing  their  letters  in  sand,  or  their  copies  on  banana  leaves, 
coming  out  one  after  another  to  reacV  the  history  of  the  good 
Samaritan,  or  of  Joseph,  proud  of  showing  their  knowledge, 
and  many  of  them  able  to  give  a  very  good  account  of  their 
studies. 

I  have  been  even  more  gratified  at  seeing  the  confidence  and 
respect  evidently  shown  by  the  elder  villagers  towards  the 
clergy  who  superintend  these  schools.  I  yesterday  saw  a  man 
follow  a  German  missionary,  to  request  that  he  would  look  at 
his  little  boy's  copy;  and  Mr.  Hawtayne,  the  secretary  to  the 
Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  seems  as  well 
known  and  received  in  the  vicinity  of  his  schools,  as  any  Eng- 
lish clergyman  in  his  parish. 

I  have  not  as  yet  received  any  visits  from  the  wealthy  natives, 
though  some  of  them  have  made  inquiries  through  my  sircar, 
whether  such  visits  would  be  agreeable,  to  me,  to  which  I,  of 


'^ftS  CORRESPONDENCE. 

course,  answered,  **  extremely  so."  Their  progress  in  the 
imitation  of  our  habits  is  very  apparent,  though  still  the  dif- 
ference is  great.  None  of  them  adopt  our  dress,  (indeed  their 
own  is  so  much  more  graceful,  and  so  much  better  adapted  to 
the  climate,  that  they  would  act  very  absurdly  in  doing  so.) 
But  their  houses  are  adorned  with  verandahs  and  Corinthian 
pillars;  they  have  very  handsome  carriages,  often  built  in  Eng- 
land; they  speak  tolerable  English,  and  they  show  a  consider- 
able liking  for  European  society,  where,  (which unfortunately 
is  not  always  the  case,)  they  are  encouraged  or  permitted  to 
frequent  it  on  terms  of  any  thing  like  equality.  Few  of  them, 
however,  will  eat  with  us;  and  this  opposes  a  bar  to  familiar 
intercourse,  which  must,  even  more  than  fashion  and  John 
Bullism,  keep  them  at  a  distance. 

They  are  described,  especially  the  Hindoos,  as  not  ill-af- 
fected to  a  government  under  which  they  thrive,  and  are  al- 
lowed to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  their  industry,  while  many  of  them 
still  recollect  the  cruelties  and  exactions  of  their  former  rulers. 

This  is,  I  feel,  an  unreasonable  letter.  But  I  know  your 
friendship  will  not  be  indifferent  to  details  in  which  I  am  so 
much  interested;  and  I  have  not  been  sorry,  while  the  novelty 
yet  remained,  to  communicate  to  you  my  first  impressions  of  a 
country,  in  all  respects  so  unlike  our  own,  and  yet  so  import- 
ant to  an  Englishman.  Lord  Hastings  appears  to  have  been 
very  popular  here,  and  to  have  done  much  good.  The  roads 
which  he  made  in  different  parts  of  Calcutta  and  its  neighbour- 
hood, his  splendour,  and  his  extreme  courtesy,  made  him  likea 
both  by  natives  and  Europeans. 

Adieu,  dear  Wynn.     Present  our  mutual  best  regards  to 
Mrs.  Williams  Wynn  and  young  folk,  and  believe  me  ever. 
Your  obliged  and  affectionate  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE  CHARLES  W.   WILLIAMS  WYNN. 

Fort- William,  December  1,  1823. 
My  Dear  Wynn, 

'ff  vjf  '^  ■5!?  -^  -^  -^ 

I  hope  you  will,  ere  this  reaches  you,  have  received  a  long 
letter  from  Barrackpoor,  giving  an  account  of  my  first  im- 
pressions of  India.  By  all  which  I  have  yet  seen,  I  do  not 
think  they  were  too  favourable.  The  climate,  since  I  wrote, 
has  very  materially  improved,  and  is  now  scarcely  hotter, 
and  to  the  full  as  pleasant  as  our  finest  August  weather.  The 
mornings  and  evenings  are  particularly  agreeable;  and  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  229 

sun,  during  the  day-time,  though  still  too  hot  to  admit  of  tak- 
ing exercise,  is  any  thing  but  oppressive  to  those  who  are  sit- 
ting still  under  a  roof,  or  driving  in  a  carriage.  The  only 
plague,  and  a  sore  plague  too,  are  the  musquitos. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  -i^ 

I  am  constantly,  and  sometimes  intensely-occupied,  inso- 
much that  I  have  as  yet  had  no  time  whatever  for  my  usual 
literary  pursuits,  and  scarcely  any  for  the  study  of  Hindoos- 
tanee  and  Persian,  or  the  composition  of  sermons,  of  which 
last,  unluckily,  owing  to  a  mistake,  my  main  stock  was  sent 
by  another  ship  which  has  not  yet  arrived,  so  that  I  have  more 
trouble  in  this  way  than  I  expected,  or  than  is  very  consistent 
with  my  other  duties. 

Since  my  last  letter,  I  have  become  acquainted  with  some 
of  the  wealthy  natives,  of  whom  I  spoke,  and  we  are  just 
returned  from  passing  the  evening  at  one  of  their  country 
houses.  This  is  more  like  an  Italian  villa,  than  what  one 
should  have  expected  as  the  residence  of  Baboo  Hurree  Mo- 
hun  Thakoor.  Nor  are  his  carriages,  the  furniture  of  his 
house,  or  the  style  of  his  conversation,  of  a  character  less  de- 
cidedly European.  He  is  a  fine  old  man  who  speaks  English 
well,  is  well  informed  on  most  topics  of  general  discussion, 
and  talks  with  the  appearance  of  much  familiarity  on  Frank- 
lin, chemistry,  natural  philosophy,  &c.  His  family  is  brah- 
minical  and  of  singular  purity  of  decent;  but  about  400  years 
ago,  during  the  Mahonmiedan  invasion  of  India,  one  of  his 
ancestors  having  become  polluted  by  the  conquerors  intruding 
into  his  Zennanah,  the  race  is  conceived  to  have  lost  claim  to 
the  knotted  cord,  and  the  more  rigid  brahmins  will  not  eat 
with  them.  Being,  however,  one  ot  the  principal  landholders 
in  Bengal,  and  of  a  family  so  ancient,  they  still  enjoy  to  a 
great  degree  the  veneration  of  the  common  people,  which  the 
present  head  of  the  house  appears  to  value, — since  I  can 
hardly  reconcile  in  any  other  manner  his  philosophical  stu- 
dies and  imitation  of  many  European  habits,  with  the  daily 
and  austere  devotion  which  he  is  said  to  practice  towards  the 
Ganges,  (in  which  he  bathes  three  times  every  twenty-four 
hours,)  and  his  veneration  for  all  the  other  duties  of  his  an- 
cestors. He  is  now  said,  however,  to  be  aiming  at  the  dig- 
nity of  Raja,  a  title  which  at  present  bears  pretty  nearly  the 
same  estimation  here  as  a  peerage  in  England,  and  is  confer- 
red by  government  in  almost  the  same  manner. 

The  house  is  surrounded  by  an  extensive  garden,  laid  out 
in  formal  parterres  of  roses,  intersected  by  straight  walks, 
with  some  fine  trees,  and  a  chain  of  tanks,  fountains,  and 
summer  houses,  not  ill  adapted  to  a  climate  where  air,  water, 
and  sweet  smells,  are  almost  the  only, natural  objects  which 


230  CORRESPONDENCE. 

can  be  relished  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  The 
whole  is  little  less  Italian  than  the  facade  of  his  house,  but 
on  mj  mentioning  this  similarity,  he  observed  that  the  taste 
for  such  things  was  brought  into  India  by  the  Mussulmans. 
There  are  alsy  swings,  whirligigs,  and  other  amusements  for 
the  females  of  his  family,  but  the  strangest  was  a  sort  of 
*'Montagne  Russe"  of  masonry,  very  steep,  and  covered 
with  plaster,  down  which  he  said  the  ladies  used  to  slide.  Of 
these  females,  however,  we  saw  none, — indeed  they  were  all 
sta^ang  at  his  town-house  in  Calcutta.  He  himself  received 
us  at  the  head  of  a  whole  tribe  of  relations  and  descendants 
on  a  handsome  flight  of  steps,  in  a  splendid  shawl,  by  way  of 
mantle,  with  a  large  rosary  of  coral  set  in  gold,  leaning  on  an 
ebony  crutch  with  a  gold  head.  Of  his  grandsons,  four  very 
pretty  boys,  two  were  dressed  like  English  children  of  the 
same  age,  but  the  round  hat,  jacket,  and  trowsers,  by  no 
means  suited  their  dusky  skins  so  well  as  the  splendid  bro- 
cade caftans  and  turbans  covered  with  diamonds,  which  the 
two  elder  wore.  On  the  whole,  both  Emily  and  I  have  been 
greatly  interested  with  the  family,  both  now  and  during  our 
previous  interviews.  We  have  several  other  eastern  acquaint- 
ance, but  none  of  equal  talent,  though  several  learned  Mool- 
lahs,  and  one  Persian  doctor,  of  considerable  reputed  sanc- 
tity, have  called  on  me.  The  Raja  of  Calcutta,  and  one  of 
the  sons  of  Tippoo  Sult§n,  do  not  choose,  I  am  told,  to  call 
till  I  have  left  the  fort,  since  they  are  not  permitted  to  bring 
their  silver  sticks,  led-horses,  carriages,  and  armed  attend- 
ants within  the  ramparts.  In  all  this,  nothing  strikes  me 
more  than  the  apparent  indifference  of  these  men  to  the  mea- 
sures employed  for  extending  Christianity,  and  rendering  it 
more  conspicuous  in  Hindoostan.  They  seem  to  think  it 
only  right  and  decent  that  the  conquering  nation  should  have 
its  hierarchy  and  establishment  on  a  handsome  scale,  and  to 
regard  with  something  little  short  of  approbation,  the  means 
we  take  for  instructing  the  children  of  the  poor.  One  of  their 
men  of  rank  has  absolutely  promised  to  found  a  college  at 
Burdwan,  with  one  of  our  missionaries  at  its  head,  and  where 
little  children  should  be  clothed  and  educated  under  his  care. 
All  this  is  very  short  indeed  of  embracing  Christianity  them- 
selves, but  it  proves  how  completely  those  feelings  are  gone 
by,  in  Bengal  at  least,  which  made  even  the  presence  of  a 
single  missionary  the  occasion  of  tumult  and  alarm.  I  only 
hope  that  no  imprudence,  or  over-forwardness  on  our  part, 

will  revive  these  angry  feelings. 

**■*■« 

Believe  me,  dear  Charles, 

Ever  your  obliged  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


CCMlRESPONDENCEv  231 

TO  MISS  DOD, 

Calcutta,  Dec.  15,  1825. 

I  have  been  very  busy,  busier  indeed  than  I  ever  was  be- 
fore, except  during  the  Oxford  election^  *  * 

■)^  ****** 

The  country,  the  society,  and,  at  this  season  of  tlie  year,  the 
climate  are  all  very  agreeable,  and  there  are  several  amiable 
and  excellent  people  here,  w^ho  have  shown  us  much  and  cor- 
dial kindness,  and  whose  friendship  would,  in  any  country, 
be  a  valuable  privilege.  Of  the  country  we  have  as  yet  seen 
little,  except  in  one  voyage  up  the  river,  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  Calcutta.  But  all  Bengal  is  described  to  us  as  like  those 
parts  which  we  have  seen,  a  vast  alluvial  plain,  intersected 
by  the  innumerable  arms  of  the  Ganges,  overflowed  once  a 
year,  but  now  covered  with  fields  of  rice,  divided  by  groves 
of  tall  fruit-trees,  with  villages  under  their  shelter  swarming 
with  a  population  beyond  any  thing  which  Europe  can  show, 
and  scarcely  to  be  j)aralleled  in  China.  Calcutta,  when  seen 
from  the  south,  on  which  side  it  is  built  round  two  sides  of  a 
great  open  plain,  with  th«  Ganges  on  the  west,  is  a  very  noble 
city,  with  tall  and  stately  houses  ornamented  with  Grecian 
pillars,  and  each,  for  the  most  part,  surrounded  by  a  little 
apology  for  a  garden.  The  churches  are  not  large,  but  very 
neat  and  even  elegant  buildings,  and  the  government  house 
is,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  a  more  showy  palace  than  London 
has  to  produce.  These  are,  however,  the  fi^ont  lines  ;  behind 
them  ranges  the  native  town,  deep,  black  and  dingy,  with 
narrow  crooked  streets,  huts  of  earth  baked  in  the  sun,  or  of 
twisted  bamboos,  interspersed  here  and  there  with  ruinous 
brick  bazars,  pools  of  dirty  water,  coco-trees,  and  little  gar- 
dens, and  a  few  very  large,  very  fine,  and  generally  very  dir- 
ty houses  of  Grecian  architecture,  the  residence  of  wealthy 
natives.  There  are  some  mosques  of  pretty  architecture,  and 
very  neatly  kept,  and  some  pagodas,  but  mostly  ruinous  and 
decayed,  the  religion  of  the  people  being  chiefly  conspicuous 
in  their  worship  of  the  Ganges,  and  in  some  ugly  painted 
wooden  or  plaster  idols,  with  all  manner  of  heads  and  arms, 
which  are  set  up  in  different  parts  of  the  city.  Fill  up  this 
outline  with  a  crowd  of  people  in  the  streets,  beyond  any 
thing  to  be  seen  even  in  London,  some  dressed  in  tawdry  silks 
and  brocades,  more  in  white  cotton  garments,  and  most  of  all 
black  and  naked,  except  a  scanty  covering  round  the  waist, 
besides  figures  of  religious  mendicants  with  no  clothing  but 
their  long  hair  and  beards  in  elf  locks,  their  faces  painted 
white  or  yellow,  their  beads  in  one  ghastly  lean  hand,  and  the 
other  stretched  out  like  a  bird's  claw  to  receive  donations } 
Vol.  IL— 20 


232  CORRESPONDENCE. 

marriage  processions,  with  the  bride  in  a  covered  chair,  and 
the  bridegroom  on  horseback,  so  swathed  round  with  garlands 
as  hardly  to  be  seen;  tradesmen  sitting  on  the  ground  in  the 
midst  of  their  different  commodities,  and  old  men,  lookers  on, 
perched  naked  as  monkeys  on  the  flat  roofs  of  the  houses  ; 
carts  drawn  by  oxen  and  driven  by  wild-looking  men  with 
thick  sticks,  so  unmercifully  used  as  to  undeceive  perfect- 
ly all  our  notions  of  brahminical  humanity ;  attendants  with 
silver  maces,  pressing  through  the  crowd  before  the  carriage 
of  some  great  man  or  other ;  no  women  seen  except  of  the 
lowest  class,  and  even  these  with  heavy  silver  ornaments  on 
their  dusky  arms  and  ankles ;  while  coaches,  covered  up  close 
with  red  cloth,  are  seen  conveying  the  inmates  of  the  neigh- 
bouring seraglios  to  take  what  is  called  "the  air;"  a  constant 
creaking  of  cart-wheels,  which  are  never  greased  in  India,  a 
constant  clamour  of  voices,  and  an  almost  constant  thumping 
and  jingling  of  drums,  cymbals,  &c.  in  honour  of  some  of  their 
deities  ;  and  add  to  this  all  a  villainous  smell  of  garlic,  rancid 
coco-nut  oil,  sour  butter,  and  stagnant  ditches,  and  you  will 
understand  the  sounds,  sights,  and  smells  of  what  is  called 
the  "  Black  Town"  of  Calcutta.  The  singularity  of  this  spec- 
tacle is  best  and  least  offensively  enjoyed  on  a  noble  quay 
which  Lord  Hastings  built  along  the  shore  of  the  river,  where 
the  vessels  of  all  forms  and  sizes,  Arab,  Indian,  Malay,  Ame- 
rican, English,  the  crowds  of  brahmins  and  other  Hindoos 
washing,  and  saying  their  prayers ;  the  lighted  tapers  which, 
towards  sun-set,  they  throw  in,  and  the  broad  bright  stream 
which  sweeps  them  by,  guiltless  of  their  impiety  and  uncon- 
scious of  their  homage,  afford  a  scene  such  as  no  European  and 
few  Asiatic  cities  can  at  all  parallel  in  interest  and  singularity. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  v^ 

Great  state,  of  a  certain  kind,  is  still  kept  up,  not  only  by 
the  governor-general,  (who  has  most  of  the  usual  appendages 
of  a  sovereign,  such  as  body-guards,  gold-sticks,  spearmen, 
peacocks' plumes,  state  carriages,  state  barge,  and  elephants,) 
but  by  all  the  principal  persons  in  authority.  You  would  laugh 
to  see  me  carried  by  four  men  in  a  palanqueen,  two  more  fol- 
lowing as  a  relay,  two  silver  maces  carried  before  me,  and  an- 
other man  with  a  huge  painted  umbrella  at  my  side ;  or  to  see 
Emily  returning  from  a  party,  with  the  aforesaid  silver  maces, 
or  sometimes  four  of  them  behind  her  carriage,  a  groom  at 
each  horse's  head,  and  four  men  running  before  with  glass 
lanthorns.     Yet  our  establishment  is  as  modest  and  humble 

as  the  habits  of  the  place  will  allow. 

*  *  #  *  *  *  * 

After  all,  this  state  has  nothing  very  dazzling  in  it;  a  crowd 
of  half-naked  followers  is  no  splendid  show,  and  the  horses, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  233 

the  equipages,  and  the  furniture  of  Calcutta,  are  all  as  far  from 
magnificent  as  any  that  I  am  acquainted  with.  Our  way  of 
life  in  other  respects  is  sensible  and  suited  to  the  climate. 
The  general  custom  is  to  rise  at  six  in  the  cold  season,  and  at 
half-past  four  in  the  morning  during  the  hot  weather,  and  to 
take  exercise  on  horseback  till  the  sun  is  hot,  then  follow  a 
cold  bath,  prayers,  and  breakfast.  This  last  is  a  sort  of  public 
meal,  when  my  clergy  and  other  friends  drop  in,  after  which 
I  am  generally  engaged  in  business  till  two,  when  we  either 
dine,  or  eat  our  tiffin;  we  then  go  out  again  at  five  or  six,  till 
darkness  drives  us. home  to  dress  for  dinner,  or  pass  a  tran- 
quil evening.  Our  rooms  are  large  and  lofty,  with  very  little 
furniture;  the  beds  have  no  drapery  but  a  musquito  net,  and 
now  the  climate  is  so  cool  as  even  to  require  a  blanket. 

We  have  excellent  turf  for  galloping  and  excellent  roads 
for  driving  on  the  great  plain  of  which  I  have  spoken.  But 
there  is  no  necessity  for  confining  ourselves  to  it,  the  roads 
round  Calcutta  as  soon  as  its  boundary  is  passed,  wind  through 
beautiful  villages  overhung  with  the  finest  and  most  picturesque 
foliage  the  world  can  show,  of  the  banyan,  the  palm,  the  tama- 
rind, and  more  beautiful  perhaps  than  all,  the  bamboo.  Some- 
times the  glade  opens  to  plains  covered,  at  this  time,  with 
the  rice  harvest,  or  to  a  sight  of  the  broad  bright  river  with 
its  ships  and  woody  shores;  sometimes  it  contracts  into  little 
winding  tracks,  through  fruit-trees,  gardens,  and  cottages;  the 
gardens  fenced  in  with  hedges  of  aloe  and  pine-apple;  the 
cottages  neater  than  those  of  Calcutta,  and  mostly  of  mats  and 
white  wicker-work,  with  thatched  roofs  and  cane  verandahs, 
with  gourds  trailing  over  them,  and  t}ie  broad  tall  plantains 
clustering  round  them.     Adieu. 

Yours  most  faithfully, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  THE  VERY  REVEREND  THE  DEAN  OF  ST.  ASAPH. 

Fort-William^  December  16, 1823. 
My  DEAR  Sir, 

Long  before  this  reaches  you,  you  will,  I  trust,  have  receiv- 
ed the  news  of  our  safe  arrival  in  India,  and  Emily's  account 
of  our  first  impressions  of  the  country,  the  people,  and  Cal- 
cutta.    These  impressions  were,  and  still  continue  favourable. 

The  climate  at  this  time  of  year  far  surpasses  my  expecta- 
tions, and  indeed  if  it  would  always  continue  as  it  is  now, 
would  be,  perhaps,  the  finest  in  the  world.  And  I  find  the  field 
of  useful  exertion  before  me  so  great,  and  the  probability  of 


234  CORRESPONDENCE. 

doing  good  so  encouraging,  that  if  Providence  blesses  us  with 
health,  I  have  no  doubt  of  being  as  happy  here  as  we  could  be 
any  where  at  such  a  distance  from  our  dear  and  excellent 
friends.  Emily  and  I  have,  thank  God,  remained  perfectly 
well  through  our  changes  of  climate.     Some  days  ago  I  should 

have  had  a  bad  report  to  make  of  our  dear  little  girl. 

*  *  *  *  *  ^t  « 

During  the  last  week  she  has  been  almost  quite  herself 
again,  but  her  mother  has  so  much  confidence  in  the  sea  air, 
and  a  change  of  air  of  any  kind  is  said  to  be,  in  this  country, 
so  desirable  for  convalescents,  that  she  has  determined  to  take 
her  down  till  the  end  of  the  month  to  the  Sand-heads  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river, — for  which  purpose  Lord  Amherst  has  kind- 
ly placed  one  of  the  pilot  schooners  at  her  disposal,  and,  what 
is  of  still  more  consequence,  has  authorized  Mr.  Shaw,  the  as- 
sistant surgeon  of  the  Fort  tp  accompany  and  remain  with  her 
till  her  return. 

*  *  •*  ;it  Jji  *  * 

At  the  present  time  this  is  a  very  fine  and  interesting  coun- 
try, and  contains  the  capability  and  the  probability  of  improve- 
ment to  a  degree  far  exceeding  any  thing  which  I  had  antici- 
pated. In  Bengal,  indeed,  as  you  are  aware,  there  is  no 
mountain,  nor  so  much  as  a  single  hill,  and  the  prospect  has 
no  other  beauty  but  what  arises  from  water,  wood,  and  a  richly 
cultivated  plain,  inhabited  by  a  population  exceeding  all  which 
I  know  in  Europe,  and  apparently  falling  little  short  of  all 
which  we  read  of  in  China.  Yet  these  circumstances,  joined 
to  the  apparent  simplicity  of  the  people,  their  singular  customs 
and  architecture,  the  beauty  and  clearness  of  the  sky,  and  the 
richness  and  majesty  of  the  vegetable  creation,  make  our  rides 
and  drives  here  very  interesting,  particularly  those  which  are 
taken  on  horseback  through  glade  and  copse  and  hamlet,  and 
rice-fields,  under  the  shadow  of  banyans,  bamboos,  tamarinds, 
and  cocos.  It  is  in  the  course  of  these  rides  that  I  generally 
visit  the  village  schools,  which  are  now  numerous  and  flour- 
ishing  under  the  care  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge,  and  the  Church  Missionary  Society;  of  the  insti- 
tution and  success  of  which  I  had  a  very  inatlequate  notion 
before  I  arrived  in  India,  and  which  I  believe  are  but  little 
known  even  at  the  present  moment  in  England.  Hearing  all 
I  had  heard  of  the  prejudices  of  the  Hindoos  and  Mussulmans, 
I  certainly  did  not  at  all  expect  to  find  that  the  common  peo- 
ple would  not  only  without  objection,  but  with  the  greatest 
thankfulness,  send  their  children  to  schools  on  Bell's  system; 
and  they  seem  to  be  fully  sensible  of  the  advantages  confer- 
red by  writing,  arithmetic,  and,  above  all,  by  a  knowledge  of 
English. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  235 


There  are  now  in  Calcutta,  and  the  surrounding  villages, 
twenty  boys'  schools,  containing  from  60  to  120  each^  and 
twenty-three  girls'  each  of  twenty -five  or  thirty.  The  latter 
are  under  the  management  of  a  very  clever  young  woman, 
who  came  out  under  the  patronage  of  the  Lancasterian  School 
Society,  but,  in  consequence  of  their  having  pledged  them- 
selves to  allow  no  Scripture  lessons  in  their  schools,  and  her 
preferring  the  system  pursued  by  the  Church  of  England,  they 
withdrew  her  salary,  and  she  must  have  left  the  country,  had 
she  not  been  fortunately  taken  up  by  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  one  of  whose  missionaries  she  has  since  married. 
This  branch  of  education,  is,  however,  now  about  to  be  put 
on  a  different  footing.  Some  of  the  Hindoos  objected  to  men 
at  all  interfering  in  the  girls'  schools,  or  even  that  the  school 
should  be  in  the  same  building  where  men  reside.  We  are, 
therefore,  going  to  build  a  separate  house  for  the  school, 
which,  with  all  the  female  schools  established,  or  to  be  esta- 
blished in  India,  is  to  be  managed  by  a  committee  of  ladies. 
Lady  Amherst  has  taken  the  office  of  patroness,  and  Emily, 
with  several  other  ladies  in  Calcutta,  are  to  form  a  commit- 
tee. I  have  no  doubt  that  things  will  go  on  prosperously  if 
we  can  only  get  funds  sufficient  for  the  demand  on  us.  The 
difficulties  of  Mrs.  Wilson's  undertaking,  and  the  wonders 
she  has  brought  about,  will  be  better  understood  when  I  men- 
tion, that  two  years  ago,  no  single  native  female  in  Bengal 
could  either  write,  read,  or  sew,  that  the  notion  of  teaching 
them  these  things,  or  of  sending  them  to  schools  where  they 
ran  the  risk  of  mixing  with,  and  touching  those  of  different 
castes,  was,  at  first,  regarded  in  about  the  same  light  as  it 
would  be  in  England  to  send  a  girl  to  learn  tumbling  and 
rope-dancing  at  Sadler's  Wells,  and  that  even  those  who 
were  most  anxious  for  the  improvement  of  the  natives,  and 
knew  most  of  India,  spoke  of  her  as  undertaking  impossibili- 
ties. Mrs.  Wilson's  first  care  was  to  get  a  pretty  good  know- 
ledge both  of  Hindoostanee  and  the  vulgar  Bengalee^  her 
next,  to  circulate  her  proposals  in  these  languages,  urging  on 
parents  the  advantages  which  their  daughters  would  derive 
from  her  instructions,  as  servants,  mothers,  and  mistresses 
of  families,  promising  a  strict  regard  to  caste,  and  urging 
that,  whether  they  became  Christians  or  no,  it  would  do 
them  no  harm  to  become  acquainted  with  the  European 
shaster,  and  the  rules  of  conduct  which  Europeans  professed  to 
follow  towards  each  other.  She  went  about  a  good  deal  her- 
self among  the  wealthy  native  families,  persuaded  some  of  the 
leading  Goroos,  or  religious  teachers,  to  honour  her  school 
with  their   presence  and    inspectioji,  and  all  now  goes  on 

20* 


2'S6  CORRESPONDENCE. 

smoothly.  Rliadacant  Deb,  one  of  the  wealthiest  natives  in 
Calcutta,  and  regarded  as  the  most  austere  and  orthodox  of 
the  worshippers  of  the  Ganges,  bade,  some  time  since,  her 
pupils  go  on  and  prosper j  and  added,  that  ''  if  thej  practised 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  as  well  as  they  repeated  it,  he 
would  choose  all  the  handmaids  for  his  daughters,  and  his 
wives,  from  the  English  school."  I  do  not  say,  nor  do  I  sup- 
pose, that  any  large  proportion  of  these  children  will  become 
Christians.  Even  if  they  were  to  offer  it  now,  we  should  tell 
them,  '"Wait  till  you  are  of  age,  and  get  your  father's  leave:" 
and  it  is  likely  that  many,  on  leaving  school,  will  leave  many 
of  their  good  impressions  behind  them.  But  it  is  certain,  that^. 
whether  they  become  Christians  or  no,  they  may  be  great 
gainers  by  what  they  learn;  and  it  is  probable  that  some,  at 
least,  in  the  present  generation,  and  probably  far  more  among 
their  children,  will  be  led  to  compare  our  system  with  their 
own,  and  seriously,  and  in  a  real  zeal  for  their  own  salvation, 
to  adopt  the  truth.  In  the  mean  time,  I  am  assured  that  the 
pains  now  taken  have  materially  increased  the  popularity  of 
the  English  in  Bengal.  The  peasants  cannot  help  perceiving 
that  the  persons  who  mix  with  them  for  these  purposes,  have 
their  worldly  as  well,  as  spiritual  interest  at  heart.  The 
children  like  the  rewards,  the  clothing,  and  the  praise  which 
they  receive;  and  in  districts  M'here,  I  am  assured,  three 
years  ago,  at  the  sight  of  an  European  they  all  ran  away 
screaming  to  hide  themselves,  the  clergymen  and  missiona- 
ries engaged  in  the  superintendance  of  these  little  establish- 
ments are  now  as  well  known  and  as  well  received  as  an 
English  pastor  in  his  parish.  Our  chief  hindrances  are  some 
deistical  brahmins,  who  have  left  their  old  religion,  and  de- 
sire to  found  a  sect  of  their  own,  and  some  of  those  who  are 
professedly  engaged  in  the  same  work  with  ourselves,  the 
Dissenters.  These  last  are,  indeed,  very  civil,  and  aftiect  to 
rejoice  at  our  success;  bat  they,  some  how  or  other,  cannot 
help  interfering,  and  setting  up  rival  schools  close  to  ours; 
and  they  apparently  find  it  easier  to  draw  off"  our  pupils,  than 
to  look  out  for  fresh  and  more  distant  fields  of  exertion  and 
enterprize. 

'^  vp  Vy  '^  ^  "JP  '^ 

My  principal  labour  here  is  in  the  multitude  of  letters  from 
the  Archdeacons,  the  Chaplains,  the  charitable  Institutions, 
the  Supreme  Government,  and  the  inferior  governments  of 
Madras  and  Bombay,  which  I  have  constantjy  to  read  and 
answer.  Besides  my  official  Secretary,  I  am  obliged  to  keep 
a  native  Amanuensis,  and  as  every  thing  connected  with 
Churches,  Chaplains,  Missionaries,  and  Schoolmasters,  passes 


CORRESPONDENCE.  237 

through  my  hands,  or  is  referred  to  me  by  government,  be- 
sides my  being  visitor  of  Bishop's  College,  and  agent  to  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  I  tind  myself  daily 
in  a  sort  of  business  in  which  I  have  much  to  learn,  and  in 
■which  I  certainly  take  no  great  pleasure.  I  have  this  morn- 
ing, for  instance,  and  yesterday  evening,  had  to  answer  four 
letters  about  the  rate  of  exchange  between  Calcutta  and  Eng- 
land, and  the  expediency  of  drawing  bills  on  the  latter  to  pay 
the  College  debts  ;  and  I  have  just  finished  reading  a  long 
sheet  of  queries  from  the  secretary  to  government,  respecting 
some  ecclesiastical  buildings,  their  expense,  workmanship,  &c. 
which  will  take  some  time  and  many  previous  enquiries  to  an- 
swer properly.  All  tliis  will,  however,  I  doubt  not,  be- 
come familiar  to  me  by  degrees  ^  and  I  only  regret  it  now,  be- 
cause it  completely  hinders  the  composition  of  my  sermons, 
and  very  materially  retards  my  acquisition  of  the  Oriental 
languages.  On  the  political  state  and  prospects  of  India,  as 
they  at  present  appear  to  me,  I  hope  to  write  another  letter. 
It  is  an  extensive  and  not  uninteresting  subject,  and  one,  which 
I  think  is  not  generally  understood  in  Europe. 

December  17. 
I  rejoice  to  send  a  good  account  of  both  my  Emilies,  whom 
I  accompanied  some  way  down  the  river  yesterday,   and  left 
very  comfortably  accomjiiodated. 

*  *  *-  *-  :»f  »  1^ 

This  letter  will  go  by  the  purser  of  the  Grenville,  who  is 
not  yet  set  off.  Captain  Manning  went  yesterday,  having 
taken  charge  of  Emily  and  her  little  girl  as  far  as  the  Sand- 
heads;  they  are  to  be  very  little  on  shore,  but  are  to  cruize 
about  the  roads  during  the  day,  and  return  at  night  to  anchor. 
Believe  me,  my  dear  Sir, 

Ever  your  obliged  and  affectionate 
Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  R.   J.   WILMOT  HORTON,   ESq. 

Calcutta,  December,  1823. 
My  Dear  Wilmot, 

The  speed  of  our  voyage  in  the  Grenville,  by  landing  us  in 
India  some  weeks  before  the  time  at  which  we  might  have 
been  expected  to  arrive  there,  has  been  productive  of  one  un- 
comfortable effect,  by  making  us  appear  so  much  the  longer 
without  letters  from  England.  Only  one  Liverpool  vessel  has 
since  arrived,  which  was  not  of  a  date  previous  to  the  time  of 
our  own  sailing,  and  she  brought  papers  only  a  very  few  days 


238  CORRESPONDENCE. 

more  recent  than  ours.  Reports,  however,  have  from  time  to 
time  been  raised,  of  vessels  supposed  from  Europe,  seen  work- 
ing up  towards  Saugor;  and  you  may  well  conceive  the  eager- 
ness with  which  we  have,  on  such  occasions,  anticipated  the 
arrival  of  those  bundles  of  information  and  kind  wishes  which 
form  the  delight  of  an  English  post-day,  and  to  us,  on  the 
Ganges,  would  be,  I  cannot  say  how  interesting.  The  Gren- 
ville,  however,  is  now  about  to  sail  again,  and  I  take  advan- 
tage of  her  return  to  remind  those  valued  friends  who  may, 
possibly,  not  yet  have  written  to  us,  how  much  their  corres- 
pondence allays  the  pain  of  absence. 

This  is  a  fine  country,  and,  at  this  time  of  the  year,  a  very 
fine  climate.  We  have,  indeed  no  mountains,  not  even  an 
elevation  so  high  as  the  mount  in  Kensington  Gardens,  which 
I  recollect  the  more,  because  in  them  was  my  last  ramble  with 
yourself  and  Hay.  We  have  no  springs,  no  running  streams 
except  the  Ganges,  and  we  have  not  much  of  open,  plain  and 
dry  turf.  But  we  have  wood  and  water  in  abundance;  the 
former  of  the  noblest  description  of  foliage  which  I  have  ever 
seen,  both  in  form,  verdure,  variety,  and  depth  of  shadow.  I 
had  no  idea  of  the  beauty  and  majesty  of  an  Indian  wood  :  the 
coloured  prints  which  I  had  seen  in  England  being  as  unlike 
the  sober  richness  of  the  reality  as  the  bloom  of  Mrs.  Salmon's 

wax-work  goddesses  to  Mrs. .     Nor,  to  those  who 

like  wandering  about  an  immense  conservatory,  or  who  are 
pleased  and  interested  with  cane-work  cottages,  littlegardens 
of  plantains  and  pine-apples,  and  the  sight  of  a  very  poor  but 
simple,  and  by  no  means  inelegant,  race  of  peasants,  are  there 
prettier  rides  than  those  afforded  by  the  lanes  and  hedge- rows 
round  Calcutta.  The  mornings,  from  five  to  eight,  are  now 
equal  to  the  pleasantest  time  of  year  in  England ;  then  follow 
about  eight  hours,  during  which  a  man  does  well  to  remain  in 
the  house,  but  which,  under  such  circumstances,  are  not  too 
hot  either  for  comfort  or  any  kind  of  mental  exertion;  and  from 
four  to  dark  it  is  again  about  the  temperature  of  our  sum- 
mer evening.  This  is,  indeed  the  best  time  of  the  year.  Of 
the  rains  and  the  hot  winds  every  body  speaks  with  very 
alarming  eloquence;  and  I  apprehend  that,  during  their  con- 
tinuance, a  bare  existence  is  all  that  any  man  can  hope  for. 
We  had  some  little  of  these  last  on  our  first  arrival,  but  not 
sufficient  to  prevent  our  morning  and  evening  airings.  They 
were,  however,  sufficiently  potent  to  induce  us  to  believe  all 
which  had  been  told  us  of  the  necessity  of  cool  clothing,  cool 
diet,  and  quietness. 

Of  the  people  of  this  country,  and  the  manner  in  which  they 
are  governed,  I  have,  as  yet,  hardly  seen  enough  to  form  in 
opinion.     1  have  seen  enough,  however,  to  find  that  the  cus- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  239 

toms,  the  habits,  and  prejudices  of  the  former  are  much  mis- 
understood in  England.  We  have  all  heard,  for  instance,  of 
the  humanity  of  the  Hindoos  towards  brute  creatures,  their 
horror  of  animal  food,  &c. ;  and  you  may  be,  perhaps,  as  much 
surprized  as  I  was,  to  find  that  those  who  can  afford  it  are 
hardly  less  carnivorous  than  ourselves^  that  even  the  purest 
brahmins  are  allowed  to  eat  mutton  and  venison;  that  fish  is 
permitted  to  many  castes,  and  pork  to  many  others:  and  that, 
though  they  consider  it  as  a  grievous  crime  to  kill  a  cow  or 
bullock  for  the  purpose  of  eating,  yet  they  treat  their  draft 
oxen,  no  less  than  their  horses,  with  a  degree  of  barbarous 
severity  which  would  turn  an  English  hackney-coachman  sick. 
Nor  have  their  religious  prejudices,  and  the  unchangeableness 
of  their  habits,  been  less  exaggerated.  Some  of  the  best-in- 
formed of  their  nation,  with  whom  I  have  conversed,  assure 
me  that  half  their  most  remarkable  customs  of  civil  and  do- 
mestic life  are  borrowed  from  their  Mahommedan  conquerors^ 
and  at  present  there  is  an  obvious  and  increasing  disposition 
to  imitate  the  English  in  every  thing,  which  has  already  led 
to  very  remarkable  changes,  and  will,  probably,  to  still  more 
important.  The  wealthy  natives  now  all  affect  to  have  their 
houses  decorated  with  Corinthian  pillars,  and  filled  with  Eng- 
lisli  furniture.  They  drive  the  best  horses  and  most  dashing 
carriages  in  Calcutta.  Many  of  them  speak  English  fluently, 
and  are  tolerably  read  in  English  literature;  and  the  chil- 
dren of  one  of  our  friends  I  saw  one  day  dressed  in  jackets  and 
trovvsers,  with  round  hats,  shoes  and  stockings.  In  the  Ben- 
galee newspapers,  of  wluch  there  are  two  or  three,  politics  are 
canvassed  with  a  bias  as  I  am  told,  inclining  to  whiggism, 
and  one  of  their  leading  men  gave  a  great  dinner,  not  long 
since,  in  honour  of  the  Spanish  revolution.  Among  the  lower 
orders  the  same  feeling  shows  itself  more  beneficially,  in  a 
growing  neglect  of  caste, — in  not  merely  a  willingness,  but  an 
anxiety,  to  send  their  children  to  our  schools,  and  a  desire  to 
learn  and  speak  English,  which,  if  properly  encouraged,  might, 
I  verily  believe,  in  fifty  years  time,  make  our  language  what 
the  Oordoo,  or  court  and  camp  language  of  the  country,  (the 
Hindoostanee,)  is  at  present.  And  though  instances  of  actual 
conversion  to  Christianity  are,  as  yet,  very  uncommon,  yet 
tlie  number  of  children,  both  male  and  female,  who  are  now 
receiving  a  sort  of  Christian  education,  reading  the  new  Tes- 
tament, repeating  the  Lord's  Prayer  and  Commandments, 
and  all  with  the  consent,  or  at  least  without  the  censure,  of 
their  parents  or  spiritual  guides,  have  increased,  during  the 
last  two  years,  to  an  amount  which  astonishes  the  old  Euro- 
pean Residents,  who  were  used  to  tremble  at  the  name  of  a 
missionary,  and  shrink  from  the  common  duties  of  Christiani- 


240  '  CORRESPONDENCE. 

ty,  lest  they  should  give  offence  to  their  heathen  neighbours. 
So  far  from  that  being  a  consequence  of  the  zeal  which  has 
been  lately  shown,  many  of  the  Brahmins  themselves  express 
admiration  of  the  morality  of  the  Gospel,  and  profess  to  enter- 
tain a  better  opinion  of  the  English  since  they  have  found  that 
they  too  have  a  religion  and  a  Shaster.  All  that  seems  neces- 
sary for  the  best  ettects  to  follow  is,  to  let  things  take  their 
course,  to  make  the  missionaries  discreet,  to  keep  the  govern- 
ment as  it  now  is,  strictly  neuter,  and  to  place  our  confidence 
in  a  general  diffusion  of  knowledge,  and  in  making  ourselves 
really  useful  to  the  temporal  as  well  as  spiritual  interests  of 
the  people  among  whom  we  live.  In  all  these  points  there  is, 
indeed,  great  room  for  improvement.  I  do  not  by  any  means 
assent  to  the  pictures  of  depravity  and  general  worthlessness 
which  some  have  drawn  of  the  Hindoos.  They  are  decidedly, 
by  nature,  a  mild,  pleasing,  and  intelligent  race;  sober,  par- 
simonious, and,  where  an  object  is  held  out  to  them,  most 
industrious  and  persevering.  But  the  magistrates  and  lawyers 
all  agree,  that  in  no  country  are  lying  and  perjury  so  common, 
and  so  little  regarded.  Notwithstanding  the  apparent  mild- 
ness of  their  manners,  the  criminal  calendar  is  generally  as 
full  as  in  Ireland,  with  gang-robberies,  setting  fire  to  build- 
ings, stacks,  &c.  &c. ;  and  the  number  of  children  who  are 
decoyed  aside  and  murdered  for  the  sake  of  their  ornaments. 
Lord  Amherst  assures  me,  is  dreadful.  Yet  in  all  these  points 
a  gradual  amelioration  is  said  to  be  perceptible;  and  I  am 
assured  that  there  is  no  ground  whatever  for  the  assertion, 
that  the  people  are  become  less  innocent  or  prosperous  under 
British  administration.  In  Bengal,  at  least  in  this  neighbour- 
hood, I  am  assured  by  the  missionaries,  who,  as  speaking  the 
language,  and  associating  with  the  lower  classes,  are  by  far 
the  best  judges,  that  the  English  government  is  popular.  They 
are  in  fact,  lightly  taxed,  (though  that  taxation  is  clumsily 
arranged,  and  liable  to  considerable  abuse,  from  the  extortions 
of  the  native  Aiimeens  and  Chokeydars;)  they  have  no  mili- 
tary conscription,  or  forced  services;  they  live  in  great  secu- 
rity from  the  march  of  armies,  &c.  and,  above  all,  they  some 
of  them  recollect  in  their  own  country,  and  all  of  them  may 
hear  or  witness  in  the  case  of  their  neighbours  in  Oude  and 
the  Birman  empire,  how  very  differently  all  these  things  are 
managed  under  the  Hindoo  and  Mahommedan  sovereignties. 
One  very  wise  and  liberal  measure  of  government  has 
been,  the  appropriation  of  all  the  internal  transit  duties  to 
the  construction  of  roads  and  bridges;  and  the  improvement 
of  the  towns  where  they  are  levied.  A  more  popular,  however, 
and  I  believe  better  policy,  would  have  been  to  remit  those 
duties  altogether.     They  are  precisely  the  things  in  which 


CORRESPONDENCE.  241 

the  Chokeydars,  and  other  underlings  are  most  fraudulent  and 
oppressive.     Twice  as  much  is  extorted  by  these  fellows  from 
the  poor  country  people  as  they  are  authorized  to  receive,  and 
of  what  is  authorized,  only  a  moderate  part  finds  its  way  into 
the  Company's  coffers.     Under  such  circumstances  it  might, 
perhaps,  be  better  to  remove  all  restraints  from  internal  inter- 
course and  traffic, 'to  make  the  people  industrious  and  prosper- 
ous, and  to  be  assured  that  improvements  would  follow  by 
degrees,  in  proportion  as  they  became  necessary  or  desirable. 
LordCornwallis's  famous  settlement  of  the  Zemindary  rents  in 
Bengal,  is  often  severely  censured  here,  as  not  sufficiently 
protecting  the  ryuts,  and  depriving  the  government  of  all  ad- 
vantage from  the  improvements  of  the  territory.     They  who 
reason  thus,  have  apparently  forgotten  that,  without  some  such 
settlement,  those  improvements  would  never  have  taken  place 
at  all:  that  almost  every  Zemindary  which  is  brought  to  the 
hammer,  (and  they  are  pretty  numerous,)  is  divided  and  sub- 
divided, each  successive  sale  among  smaller  proprietors,  and 
that  the  progress  is  manifestly  going  on  to  a  minute  division  of 
the  soil  among  the  actual  cultivators,  andsubjectto  noother  bur- 
dens than  a  fixed  and  very  moderate  quit  rent,  a  state  of  things 
by  no  means  undesirable  in  a  nation,  and  which  only  needs  to 
be  corrected  in  its  possible  excess  by  a  law  of  primogeniture, 
and  by  encouraging,  instead  of  forbidding,   the  purchase  of 
lands  by  the  English.     On  the  desirableness  of  this  last  mea- 
sure, as  the  most  probable  means  of  improving  the  country, 
and  attaching  the  peasantry  to  our  government,— I  find,  in 
Calcutta,  little  diflfererice  of  opinion.   All  the  restriction  which 
seems  necessary  is,  that  the  collectors  of  the  Company's  taxes 
shall   not   be  allowed  to  purchase  lands  within  the  limits  of 
their  districts;  and  if  the  same  law  were  extended  to  their 
Hindoo  and  Mussulman  deputies,  a  considerable  source  of  op- 
pression, which  now  exists,  would  be  dried  up  or  greatly  mi- 
tigated. 


TO  JOHN  THORNTON,   ESQ. 

Tittyghury  January  9,  1824. 
My  dear  Thornton, 

******* 
I  do  not  think,  indeed,  that  the  direct  duties  of  this  diocese, 
bating  the  visitations,  are  more  than  a  man  may  do  with  a  mo- 
derate share  of  diligence.  .  » 

They  are  such,  however,  as  I  must  do  all  for  myself,  since 


242  CORRESPONDENCE. 

though  I  keep  a  native  scribe  at  work  from  nine  till  four  daily, 
he  can  only  be  trusted  to  copy  what  I  write,  while  it  is  neces- 
sary for  me  to  obtain  and  keep  copies  of  all  the  official  cor- 
respondence in  which  I  am  a  partyj  besides  M^iich,  an  inter- 
course with  chaplains,  missionaries  and  religious  societies,  is 
in  India,  all  carried  on  by  letter,  and  what  in  England  would  be 
settled  in  a  few  minutes  by  personal  communication,  is  here 
the  subject  of  long  arguments,  explanations,  and  rejoinders  in 
writing.  I  at  first  therefore,  had  occasion  to  work  pretty  hard, 
and  am  now  so  fortunate  as  to  be  completely  rid  of  all  arrears 
of  business,  and  to  find  myself  equal  to  the  daily  calls  of  my 
correspondents,  without  so  completely  sacrificing  all  other 
studies,  as  I  was  for  some  time  compelled  to  do.  Still  I  am 
without  books,  and  what  has  been  still  more  inconvenient, 
without  sermons,  so  that  I  have  been  latterly  obliged  to  com- 
pose often  two,  and  sometimes  three  a  week,  amid  greater  dis- 
tractions, and  with  fewer  opportunities  of  study  or  reference 
than  1  ever  before  had  to  complain  of.  I  continue  well,  how- 
ever, thank  God!  and  have  abundant  reason  at  present  to  be 
hopeful  and  contented  in  my  situation,  where  I  meet  with 
much  attention  and  kindness,  and  where  the  apparent  field  of 
usefulness  is  so  great  that,  while  I  deeply  feel  my  own  insuf- 
ficiency, I  am  more  and  more  impressed  with  the  undeserved 

goodness  of  God  in  calling  me  to  such  a  situation. 

*•  *  *  *  ■*  *  * 

To  the  affairs  of  the  Church  Missionary  society  I  have  paid 
considerable  attention,  and  have  great  reason  to  be  satisfied 
with  the  manner  in  which  they  are  conducted,  as  well  as  per- 
sonally with  the  committee,  and  all  the  Missionaries  whom  1 
have  seen.  I  have,  as  you  are  perhaps  aware,  obtained  their 
adoption  of  some  changes  in  the  constitution  of  the  society, 
qualified,  I  hope,  to  put  us  on  a  more  stable  and  popular  foot- 
ing, and  to  obtain  for  us  both  at  home  and  in  India  a  greater 
notoriety  and  usefulness. 

Pray  tell  Mr.  Parry  that  all  which  I  have  seen  in  India 
justifies  his  praises  of  it.  It  is  a  fine  and  most  interesting 
country.  The  European  society  is  agreeable,  hospitable, 
and  well-informedj  there  are  many  excellent  people  in  Cal- 
cutta. 

But,  alas!  new  friends  cannot  be  like  old,  new  lands  cannot 
be  like  home!  And  while  I  should  be  the  most  thankless  of 
men  not  to  be  contented  and  happy  here,  I  cannot  help  often 
wishing  for  a  sight  of  the  hill  above  Hodnet,  or  the  new 
fence  which  I  left  you  and  Mrs.  Thornton  contriving  at 
Clapham. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  243 

No  orders  have  yet  come  out  from  government  respecting 

a  residence  for  me 

Dr.  Wallich  has  lent  us  his  house  at  Tittyghur,  between  Cal- 
cutta and  Barrackpoor,  a  delightful  place,  which  apparently 
agrees  with  our  little  girl  perfectly.  The  fort,  from  close- 
ness, and  other  reasons  connected  with  closeness,  is  said  to 
be  often  injurious  to  young  and  delicate  persons^  but  without 
its  rampart  we  would  fain  flatter  ourselves  even  children 
may  enjoy  good  health  in  this  country,  and  some  years  at 
least  may  elapse  before  we  are  compelled  to  send  ours  to 

England 

May  God  hear  our  prayers,  and  those,  which  it  is  one  of  my 
chief  comforts  to  believe,  are  oiFered  up  for  us  by  our  dear 
friends  in  England.     God  Almighty  bless  you. 

Ever  your  affectionate  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 

It  was  my  intention  till  lately  to  set  out  by  land  for  the 
upper  provinces  as  soon  as  Emily  was  able  to  travel,  and  to 
stay  at  Ghazeepoor,  a  little  on  this  side  Benares,  during  the 
hot  winds.  In  this  expedition  Archdeacon  Corrie  promised 
to  accompany  me,  but  a  reconsideration  of  all  which  I  am 
doing,  and  have  to  do  at  Calcutta,  has  convinced  me  that  I  can- 
not be  spared  before  the  rains,  when  also  I  hope  for  Mr.  Cor- 
rie's  company.  The  want  of  episcopal  visitation,  confirma- 
tion, &c.  in  all  those  vast  districts,  is  said  to  be  great. 


TO  THE  HONOURABLE  MRS.   DOUGLAS. 

Tittyghur,  January  10,  1824. 

Wherever  the  Ganges  is,  there  is  beauty;  and  even  those 
who  are  most  sensible  to  the  beauties  of  English  scenery, 
may  allow  that  while  the  peepul,  the  teak,  and  the  other 
large  round-topped  trees  will  bear  no  disadvantageous  compa- 
rison with  our  oaks,  elms,  and  limes;  the  mangoe  and  tama- 
rind greatly  surpass  in  beauty  our  walnut  and  cherry-trees; 
and  we  have  nothing  at  all  answerable  to  the  banyan,  the 
bamboo,  the  different  species  of  palms,  or  the  plantains, 
aloes,  cactus,  and  ananas,  by  which  the  cottages  are  sur- 
rounded. .  .  .  The  plains  between  these  groves  are  all 
cultivated  with  rice,  and  have,  at  this  time  of  the  year,  pret- 
ty much  the  appearance  of  an  English  stubble.  When  we 
first  arrived,  the  rice  was  like  our  corn  in  spring;  but  as  the 
ground  dried,  and  the  crop  ripened,  it  assumed  a  more  au- 

VoL.  IL— 21 


244  CORRESPONDENCE. 

tumnal  appearance,  though  never  so  bright  and  golden  as  our 
wheat. 

Of  the  fruits  of  India  we  had  formed  high  expectations;  the 
mangoe,  which  is  the  most  celebrated,  has  not  been  in  season 
since  our  arrival;  but  the  rest,  such  of  them  at  least  as  are 
peculiar  to  the  country,  have  much  disappointed  us.  The 
oranges  are,  I  think,  the  best;  but  they  are  not  better  than 
what  are  sent  to  London  from  the  Mediterranean  and  the 
western  isles.  I  will  make  an  exception  in  favour  of  the 
coco-nut  when  unripe,  at  which  time  its  milk  is  very  refresh- 
ing, and  far  better  than  we  get  it  in  England.  Nor  are  many 
of  the  native  vegetables  agreeable  to  an  English  palate;  though 
any  body  may  easily  get  reconciled  to  yams,  brinjals,  and 
sweet  potatoes.  At  this  time  of  year,  however,  most  Euro- 
pean vegetables  are  brought  to  market  in  abundance,  and  very 
good,  though  cultivated  for  the  consumption  of  Europeans 
only,  the  natives  liking  none  of  them  but  potatoes,  which, 
though  they  have  only  known  them  during  the  last  few  years, 
are  likely  soon  to  rank  as  a  supplementary  staff' of  life,  with 
rice  and  plantains.  The  peasants  near  Patna  already  grow 
them  to  a  considerable  extent;  but  they  never  can  become  the 
exclusive  crop  here,  inasmuch  as  the  moist  rice-grounds  do 
not  suit  their  growth,  which  will  therefore  be  confined  to  the 
sandy  and  drier  soils,  where  rice  cannot  grow,  and  where 
such  a  vegetable  maybe  of  unmixed  utility;  while  such  a  sup- 
plementary crop,  in  case  of  the  rice  failing,  may  prevent  many 
a  famine,  and  diminish  one  strong  point  of  the  similarity 
which  now  exists  between  the  Indian  and  Irish  peasantry, 
their  reliance  on  a  single  article  of  food,  and  the  almost  inli- 
nite  division  and  subdivision  of  their  farms,  which  here,  as  in 
Ireland,  is  a  fertile  source  of  poverty  and  wretchedness. 

On  the  whole  they  are  a  lively,  intelligent,  and  interesting 
people:  of  the  upper  classes,  a  very  considerable  proportion 
learn  our  language,  read  our  books  and  our  newspapers,  and 
show  a  desire  to  court  our  society;  the  peasants  are  anxious 
to  learn  English,  and  though,  certainly,  very  few  of  them 
have  as  yet  embraced  Christianity,  I  do  not  think  their  reluc- 
tance is  more  than  might  have  been  expected  in  any  country, 
where  a  system  so  entirely  different  from  that  previously  pro- 
fessed, was  oiFered,  and  offered  by  those  of  whom  as  their 
conquerors,  they  may  well  entertain  considerable  jealousy. 
Their  own  religion  is,  indeed,  a  horrible  one;  far  more  so 
than  I  had  conceived;  it  gives  them  no  moral  precepts;  it  en- 
courages them  in  vice  by  the  style  of  its  ceremonies,  and  the 
character  given  of  its  deities;  and  by  the  institution  of  caste, 
it  hardens  their  hearts  against  each  other  to  a  degree  which 


CORRESPONDENCE.  245 

is  often  most  revolting.  A  traveller  falls  down  sick  in  the 
streets  of  a  village,  (I  am  mentioning  a  fact  which  happened 
ten  days  ago,)  nobody  knows  what  caste  he  is  of,  therefore 
nobody  goes  near  him  lest  they  should  become  polluted;  he 
wastes  to  death  before  the  eyes  of  a  whole  community,  unless 
the  jackalls  take  courage  from  his  helpless  state  to  finish  him 
a  little  sooner,  and,  perhaps,  as  happened  in  the  case  to  which 
I  alluded,  the  children  are  allowed  to  pelt  him  with  stones 
and  mud.  The  man  of  whom  I  am  speaking  was  found  in 
this  state  and  taken  care  of  by  a  passing  European,  but  if  he 
had  died,  his  skeleton  would  have  lain  in  the  streets  till  the 
vultures  carried  it  away,  or  the  magistrates  ordered  it  to  be 
thrown  into  the  river. 

A  friend  of  mine,  some  months  ago,  found  a  miserable 
wretch,  a  groom  out  of  employ,  who  had  crept,  sick  of  a  dy- 
sentery, into  his  court-yard.  He  had  there  remained  in  a 
corner  on  the  pavement  two  days  and  nights.  Perhaps  twenty 
servants  had  been  eating  their  meals  daily  within  six  yards  of 
him,  yet  none  had  relieved  him,  none  had  so  much  as  carried 
him  into  the  shelter  of  one  of  the  out-houses,  nor  had  any  taken 
the  trouble  to  tell  their  master.  When  reproved  for  this,  their 
answer  was,  "he  was  not  our  kinsman;"  "Whose  business 
was  it?"  "  How  did  we  know  that  the  Sahib  would  like  to  be 
troubled?"  I  do  not  say  that  these  are  every  day  instances* 
I  hope  and  believe  not;  nor  would  I  be  understood  as  denying 
that  alms  are,  to  religious  mendicants,  given  to  a  great  amount 
in  Bengal,  or  that  several  of  the  wealthy  inhabitants,  in  what 
they  consider  good  works,  such  as  constructing  public,  tanks, 
making  roads  to  places  of  pilgrimage,  building  pagodas  and 
ghats,  are  liberal.  I  only  mention  these  instances  because 
none  of  those  who  heard  them  seemed  to  think  them  unusual 
or  extraordinary;  because  in  a  Christian  country  I  think  they 
could  not  have  happened,  and  because  they  naturally  arise 
from  the  genius  of  the  national  religion,  which,  by  the  distinc- 
tion which  it  establishes,  makes  men  worse  than  indiiferentto 
each  other.  Accordingly,  many  of  the  crimes  whicli  fall  under 
the  cognizance  of  the  magistrate,  and  many  of  the  ancient  and 
sanctified  customs  of  the  Hindoos,  are  marked  with  great 
cruelty.  The  Decoits,  or  gangs  of  robbers,  who  are  common 
all  over  the  country,  though  they  seldom  attack  Europeans, 
continually  torture  to  force  the  peasants  to  bring  out  their  lit- 
tle treasures. 

*  «  *  *  *  *  i^ 

I  need  say  nothing  of  the  burning  of  widows,  but  it  is  not 
so  generally  known  that  persons  now  alive  remember  human 
sacrifices  in  the  holy  places  near  Calcutta;  and  that  a  very 
respectable  man  of  my  acquaintance,  himself  by  accident  and 


246  CORRESPONDENCE. 

without  the  means  of  interfering,  witnessed  one  of  a  boy  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen,  in  which  nothing  was  so  terrible  as  the 
perfect  indifference  with  which  the  tears,  prayers,  and  caresses 
even,  which  the  poor  victim  lavished  on  his  murderers,  were 
regarded.  After  this  it  is  hardly  worth  while  to  go  on  to  show 
that  crimes  of  rapine,  and  violence,  and  theft  are  very  com- 
mon, or  that  the  tendency  to  lying  is  such  that,  (as  one  of  the 
judges  here  observed,)  "  in  a  court  of  justice  they  cannot  even 
tell  a  true  story  without  spoiling  it."  But  what  I  would 
chiefly  urge  is,  that  for  all  these  horrors  their  system  of  reli- 
gion is  mainly  answerable,  inasmuch  as  whatever  moral  lessons 
their  sacred  books  contain,  and  they  are  very  few,  are  shut  up 
from  the  mass  of  the  people,  while  the  direct  tendency  of  their 
institutions  is  to  evil.  The  national  temper  is  decidedly  good, 
gentle,  and  kind^  they  are  sober,  industrious,  affectionate  to 
their  relations,  generally  speaking  faithful  to  their  masters, 
easily  attached  by  kindness  and  confidence,  and  in  the  case 
of  the  military  oath,  are  of  admirable  obedience,  courage,  and 
fidelity  in  life  and  death.  But  their  morality  does  not  extend 
beyond  the  reach  of  positive  obligations;  and  where  these  do 
not  exist,  they  are  oppressive,  cruel,  treacherous,  and  every 
thing  that  is  bad.  We  have  heard  much  in  England  of  their 
humanity  to  animals,  I  can  only  say  that  I  have  seen  no  to- 
kens of  it  in  Calcutta. 


Their  high  reputation  in  such  matters  has  arisen,  I  am  as- 
sured, from  exaggerated  statements  of  particular  instances, 
such  as  may  happen  in  any  country,  of  overstrained  tender- 
ness for  animal  life,  and  from  the  fact  that  certain  sacred  ani- 
mals, such  as  the  bulls  dedicated  to  Brahma,  are  really  treated 
with  as  much  tenderness  and  consideration  as  if  they  were 
Brahmins  themselves.  As  yet,  it  remains  to  be  seen  how  far 
the  schools  may  produce  a  change  for  the  better.  I  am  in- 
clined to  hope  every  thing  from  them,  particularly  from  those 
which  Mrs.  Wilson  has,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Church 
Missionaries,  set  on  foot  for  females,  but  I  am  sure  that  a  peo- 
ple such  as  I  have  described,  with  so  many  amiable  traits  of 
character,  and  so  great  natural  quickness  and  intelligence, 
ought  to  be  assisted  and  encouraged  as  far  as  we  possibly  can 
in  the  disposition  which  they  now  evince,  in  this  part  of  the 
country  at  least,  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  our  language  and 
laws,  and  to  imitate  our  habits  and  examples.  By  all  which 
I  have  learned  they  now  really  believe  we  wish  them  well, 
and  are  desirous  of  their  improvement;  and  there  are  many 
points,  (that  of  the  burning  widows  is  one,)  in  which  a  change 
for  the  better  is  taking  place  in  the  public  mind,  which,  if  we 


CORRESPONDENCE.  247 

are  not  in  too  great  a  hurry,  will  probably,  ere  long,  break 
clown  the  observance  of,  at  least,  one  horror.  Do  not  suppose 
that  I  am  prejudiced  against  the  Hindoos.  In  my  personal 
intercourse  with  them  I  have  seen  much  to  be  pleased  with, 
and  all  which  I  hear  and  believe  as  to  what  they  might  be  with 
a  better  creed,  makes  me  the  more  earnest  in  stating  the  hor- 
rors for  which  their  present  creed,  as  I  think,  is  answerable. 
This  is  an  unmerciful  letter,  but  I  hope  and  believe  that  I 
shall  not  have  wearied  you.  Both  Emily  and  I  often  think  and 
talk  of  you,  and  recall  to  mind,  with  deep  and  affectionate  in- 
terest, our  parting  on  the  quarter-deck  of  the  Grenville,  with 

you  and  your  brothers. 

«  *  *  *  *  *  * 

We  more  and  more  feel  how  much  we  have  relinquished  in 
leaving  such  friends  behindj  but  I  do  not,  and  I  hope  Emily 
does  not  repent  of  our  undertaking.  So  long  as  we  are  bless- 
ed with  health,  and  of  this,  with  due  care,  I  entertain  at  pre- 
sent few  apprehensions,  we  have,  indeed,  abundant  reason  for 
content  and  thankfulness  around  us,  and  where  there  is  so  much 
to  be  learned  and  to  be  done,  life  cannot  well  hang  heavy  on 
the  hands  of 

Dear  Harriet, 

Ever  your  affectionate  Cousin, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 

I  believe  I  have  said  nothing  of  the  Mahommedans,  who  are 
about  as  numerous  here  as  the  Protestants  are  in  Ireland.  They 
are  in  personal  appearance  a  finer  race  than  the  Hindoos  j  they 
are  also  more  universally  educated,  and  on  the  whole  I  think 
a  better  people,  inasmuch  as  their  faith  is  better.  They  are 
haughty  and  irascible,  hostile  to  the  English  as  to  those  who 
have  supplanted  them  in  their  sovereignty  over  the  country, 
and  notoriously  oppressive  and  avaricious  in  their  dealings  with 
their  idolatrous  countrymen  wherever  they  are  yet  in  authority. 
They  are,  or  are  supposed  to  be,  more  honest,  and  to  each  other 
they  are  not  uncharitable;  but  they  are,  I  fear,  less  likely  at  pre- 
sent than  the  Hindoos  to  embrace  Christianity,  though  some  of 
them  read  our  scriptures;  and  I  have  heard  one  or  two  speak 
of  Christians  as  of  nearly  the  same  religion  with  themselves. 
They  have,  however,  contracted  in  this  country  many  super- 
stitions of  castes  and  images,  for  which  their  western  brethren, 
the  Turks  and  Arabs,  are  ready  to  excommunicate  them;  and, 
what  is  more  strange,  many  of  them,  equally  in  opposition  to 
their  own  religion  and  tliat  of  the  Hindoos,  are  exceeding 
drunkards. 

21*      . 


248  CORRESPONDENCE. 


TO  MRS.    HEBER. 

Tittyghur,  Janum-y  25, 1824, 
My  dearest  Mother, 

Our  former  packets  will,  I  trust,  before  this  time,  have  com- 
municated to  you  the  intelligence  of  our  safe  arrival,  and  of 

our  subsequent  proceedings. 

******* 

******* 

Calcutta  is  a  very  striking  place,  but  it  so  much  resembles 
Petersburg,  though  on  a  less  splendid  scale,  that  I  can  hardly 
help  fancying  myself  sometimes  in  Russia.  The  architecture 
of  the  principal  houses  is  the  same,  with  Italian  porticos,  and 
all  whitewashed  or  stuccoed,  and  the  width  and  straightness 
of  the  principal  streets,  the  want  of  pavement,  the  forms  of  the 
peasants'  carts,  and  the  crowds  of  foot-passengers  in  every 
street,  as  well  as  the  multitude  of  servants,  the  want  of  fur- 
niture in  the  houses,  and  above  all,  the  great  dinner-parties 
which  are  one  distinguishing  feature  of  the  place,  are  all  Mus- 
covite. 

*  *  «  *  *  *  * 

The  public  here  is  very  liberal,  but  the  calls  on  charity  are 
continual,  and  the  number  of  five  and  ten  pound  subscriptions 
which  are  required  of  a  man  every  month,  for  inundations, 
officers'  widows,  &c.  &c.  are  such  as  surprize  an  Englishman 
on  his  first  arrival,  though  he  cannot  but  be  pleased  at  the  spi- 
rit which  it  evinces 

I  am  happy  to  set  you  at  ease  about  pirates.  There  were, 
as  you  have  been  rightly  informed,  four  or  five  years  ago,  a 
good  many  Arab  pirates  in  the  Bombay  seas,  but  none  that  I 
have  heard  of  ever  ventured  into  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  and  even 
those  who  did  exist  are  said  to  have  been  completely  driven 
from  the  sea  by  the  expedition  which  was  sent  some  time  back 
from  Bombay  against  the  Arabs  of  the  Persian  gulf.  But  with 
these  seas  I  shall  have  little  concern,  since  my  journeys  in  that 
quarter  will  be  chiefly  by  land.  Those  which  I  have  to  per- 
form in  this  part  of  India  will  be  mostly  by  the  Ganges,  on  which 
sculking  thieves  are  sometimes  met  with,  but  no  robbers  bold 
enough  to  attack  European  boats.  I  should  have  much  pre- 
ferred marching  by  land  the  whole  way,  as  we  at  first  proposed, 
but  I  found  it  impossible  to  leave  Calcutta  before  the  weather 
would  have  become  too  hot  for  such  a  journey.  At  the  com- 
mencement of  the  rains  we  shall  set  out,  and  boat  it  all  the 
way  to  Cawnpoor.  The  boats  are  like  houses,  and  as  comfort- 
able as  such  things  well  can  be;  but  our  progress  by  this  me- 
thod, will  be  very  tedious  and  wearisome,  compared  with  the 


CORRESPONDENCE.  249 

amusement  of  a  land  journey  with  our  tents  and  elephants.  We 
shall,  however,  escape  the  rains,  which  is  reckoned  the  only 
unhealthy  season  in  Bengal,  when  every  road  is  a  puddle,  and 
every  field  a  marsh,  and  every  river  a  sea,  and  when  a  hot  sun, 
playing  on  a  vast  surface  of  water  and  decayed  vegetables,  is 
regarded  as  the  cause  of  almost  all  the  diseases  which  are  not 
brought  on  by  intemperance  and  carelessness. 

»lc  y^  'Jp  if:  v^  "^  i^ 

******* 

My  morning  rides  are  very  pleasant ',  my  horse  is  a  nice, 
quiet,  good-tempered  little  Arab,  who  is  so  fearless  that  he 
goes,  without  starting,  close  to  an  elephant,  and  so  gentle  and 
docile,  that  he  eats  bread  out  of  my  hand,  and  has  almost  as 
much  attachment  and  coaxing  ways  as  a  dog.  This  seems  the 
usual  character  of  the  Arab  horse,  who,  (to  judge  from  those  I 
have  seen  in  this  country, )  is  not  the  fiery  dashing  animal  I 
had  supposed,  but  with  more  rationality  about  him,  and  more 
apparent  confidence  in  his  rider,  than  the  generality  of  English 
horses.  The  latter,  however,  bear  the  highest  price  here, 
from  their  superior  size,  and  power  of  going  through  more 
work.  The  Indian  horses  are  seldom  good,  and  always  ill- 
tempered  and  vicious ;  and  it  is  the  necessity  of  getting  foreign 
horses  which  makes  the  expense  so  great  as  you  have  heard, 
while  after  all,  in  this  climate,  four  horses  will  not  do  so  much 
work  as  a  pair  in  England. 

Believe  me,  dearest  Mother, 

Your  affectionate  son, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 

I  rejoice  to  hear  that  Mr.  Puller  is  coming  out  as  Chief 
Justice.  He  is  a  kind  and  worthy  man,  and  will,  I  think,  be 
very  popular  here,  as  well  as  be  an  agreeable  and  friendly 
neighbour  to  us. 


TO  THE  VERY  REV.  THE  DEAN  OF  ST.  ASAPH. 

January  27 y  1824. 
My  dear  sir, 

In  my  last  letter  I  promised  you  that  this  should  be  a  political 
one.  I  know  not,  after  all,  now  that  I  am  sitting  down  to  the 
task,  that  I  have  been  able  to  acquire  any  information  which 
will  be  new  to  you,  or  that  I  am  as  yet  qualified  to  speak  other- 
wise than  with  great  hesitation  as  to  the  real  state  even  of  a 
small  part  of  this  great  empire.  Frpm  all  external  enemies, 
British  India,  (now  comprehending  either  directly  or  indirect- 


250  CORRESPONDENCE. 

ly  three-fourths  of  the  whole  vast  peninsula,)  appeared  till  late- 
ly, secure.  The  Maharattas  are  completely  conquered  and 
heart-broken;  the  kings  of  Oude  and  Hydrabad  only  hold  their 
places  at  our  will  and  pleasure  5  and  their  subjects  desire  no- 
thing so  much  as  that  we  should  take  the  government  of  both 
countries  into  our  own  hands,  while  Russia  is  regarded  as  so 
distant  a  danger,  that,  during  the  latter  years  of  Lord  Hast- 
ings' government,  and  in  fact  to  the  present  moment,  the 
army  of  India  has  been  allowed  to  melt  away,  and  is  now,  as 
I  am  assured,  perhaps  the  least  numerous  establishment,  (in 
comparison  with  the  population,  extent,  and  revenues  of  tne 
countries  whence  it  is  raised  and  supported,)  that  any  civiliz- 
ed empire  in  the  world  can  show.  It  seems,  however,  that 
war  with  a  new,  and  by  no  means  a  despicable  enemy,  is  now 
inevitable,  and  has  indeed  already  begun.  The  Kingof  Ava, 
whose  territories  under  the  name  of  the  ''Birman  empire," 
you  will  see  marked  in  all  the  recent  maps,  has  been  long 
playing  the  same  Buonapartean  game  in  what  is  called  "In- 
dia beyond  the  Ganges,"  (though  in  fact  removed  many  hun- 
dred miles  from  that  river,)  which  we  have  been  playing  in 
Hindoostan.  His  dominions  had,  till  now,  been  separated  from 
ours  by  a  line  of  mountains  and  forests,  which  prevented  al- 
most all  intercourse  either  peaceable  or  hostile  ;  but  by  the 
recent  conquest  of  the  country  of  Assam  and  some  other  moun- 
tain Rajas,  he  has  pushed  himself  into  the  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood of  Bengal  and  has  begun  to  hold  a  language  about 
frontiers,  neutral  grounds,  and  ancient  claims  of  the  ''golden 
empire,"  which  the  English  in  India  are  quite  unaccustomed 
to  hear,  and  which  it  would  be  still  more  inconvenient  to  ad- 
mit for  a  single  moment.  I  believe,  indeed,  his  actual  demands 
are  limited  to  a  little  swampy  island,  no  more  worth  lighting 
for  than  that  which  was  the  cause  of  Fortinbras's  armament* 
But  this  island,  such  as  it  is,  has  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Com- 
pany, and  the  soubahdars  of  Bengal  before  them,  time  out  of 
mind,  and  is  also  clearly  on  the  western  side  of  the  main  stream 
of  the  little  river  which  divides  the  empires.  Nor  is  this  all, 
since  in  the  course  of  the  discussion  some  menaces  have  been 
held  out,  that  the  "golden  empire"  has  further  demands  which 
the  great  moderation  of  its  sovereign  only  induces  liim  to  re- 
frain from  pressing,  and  that  all  Bengal  as  far  as  Calcutta  and 
Moorshedabad  ought  to  be  ceded  to  him.  Lord  Amherst,  who, 
as  well  as  the  directors  at  home,  is  sufficiently  anxious  for  peace, 
expected,  however,  that  firmly  and  civilly  saying  no,  would 
have  been  sufficient,  (together  with  placing  a  small  garrison  on 
the  disputed  island,  which  has,  after  all,  been  again  withdrawn 
on  account  of  the  pestiferous  air,)  to  preserve  matters  on  their 
former  footing  of  grumbling  and  uneasy  tranquillity.    He  has, 


CORRESPONDENCE*  251 

however,  been  disappointed,  since  he  heard  yesterday  that  two 
Birman  corps  had  advanced  into  the  neutral  ground  of  Ca- 
shar,  one  of  which  had  been  in  consequence  attacked  by  a 
small  body  of  sepoys  stationed  on  our  frontier,  and  defeated 
with  some  loss,  but  after  a  resistance  which  shows  that  our 
new  enemies  are  in  every  thing  but  arms  and  discipline  far 
from  despicable,  and  decidedly  superior  in  courage  and  bodily 
strength  to  the  generality  of  those  to  whom  we  have  been  as 
yet  opposed  in  India.     It  is  indeed  possible,  though  barely  so, 
that  this  first  experience  of  bayonets  and  disciplined  troops, 
may  not  have  been  of  a  nature  to  increase  their  desire  for  fur- 
ther communication  of  the  kind.     But  more  likely,  the  check 
has  been  too  slight  to  produce  such  an  effect  on  troops  who  are 
found  to  be  brave  and  hardy,  and  a  King  who  has  been  en- 
gaged in  a  long  course  of  conquest,  and  has  never  met  with 
his  match  till  now.     Should  the  war  go  on,  it  is  some  com- 
fort to  believe  that  we  have  right  on  our  side.  Yet  it  is  a  griev- 
ous matter  that  blood  should  be  shed,  and  all  the  other  horrors 
of  an  Asiatic  war  incurred  to  an  extent  which  cannot  be'"cal- 
culated,  for  a  spot  of  ground  so  unhealthy,  that  neither  English 
nor  Birmans  can  live  on  it,  and  by  two  governments,  each  of 
whom  has  more  territory  than  it  can  well  manage.    The  East 
India  Company,  however,  and  their  servants  and  subjects  have 
reason  to  be  thankful  that  the  "  Golden  Sword"  slept  in  its 
scabbard  while  Lord  Hastings  was  engaged  with  the  whole 
forces  of  the  empire,  against  the  Pindarrees,  Maharattas,  and 
Nepaulese,  since  an  inroad  of  the  warlike  barbarians  wouM 
then  have  caused  well-founded  alarm  to  Chittagong,  at  least  if 
not  to  Decca  and  even  Calcutta.    The  truth,  however,  is,  that 
the  Birmans  were  then  occupied  in  the  preliminary  subjuga- 
tion of  Assam.    With  such  a  war  impending,  you  will  natu- 
rally ask,  how  far  the  British  government  can  count  on  the 
ailections  of  its  own  subjects.     This  is  a  question  which  it 
is  not  very  easy  to  answer.   Any  thing  like  our  European  no- 
tions of  loyalty  or  patriotism,  I  fancy,  is  out  of  the  case.     In- 
deed, from   the  frequent  ciianges  of  masters,  to   which  all 
India  has  been  long  exposed,  I  doubt,  from  all  which  I  have 
heard,  whether  the  idea  exists  among  them,  any  otherwise  than 
that  the  native  soldiers  are,  for  the  most  part,  admirably  faith- 
ful to  the  government,  (whatever  it  may  be,)  which  they  have 
engaged  to  serve,  so  long  as  that  government  performs  its  sti- 
pulations to  them;  and  that  if  a  country  under  a  bad  and 
oppressive    government    is    attacked,    the    invader's    camp 
would  be  better  supplied  with  provisions  than  if  the  pea- 
sants supposed   that  they  would  be  losers  by  his  success. 
The  idea  of  guerillas  rising  to  oppose  a  foreign  enemy  would 
never  enter  into  the  head  of  a  Hindoo,  or  if  any  such  bodies 
of  men  were  formed,  they  would  be  as  professed  plunderers, 


252  CORRESPONDENCE. 

equally  formidable  to  all  parties,  or  as  mercenaries,  ready  to 
accept  pay  from  any  who  might  entertain  them.  But  among 
the  sepoys,  nobody  seems  to  apprehend  a  breach  of  faith,  and, 
from  all  which  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  the  peasantry  and 
merchants  are  extremely  well  content  with  us,  and  prefer  our 
government  very  much  to  that  of  any  existing  Asiatic  sove-- 
reign.  The  great  increase  of  population  in  Bengal  and  Ba- 
her,  the  number  of  emigrants  which  come  thither  from  all  parts 
of  India,  the  extent  of  fresh  ground  annually  brought  into  cul- 
tivation, and  the  ostentation  of  wealth  and  luxury  among  the 
people,  which  under  the  native  princes  no  one,  (except  the  im- 
mediate servants  of  government,)  ventures  to  show,  seem  still 
more  convincing  proofs  that  they  are,  on  the  whole,  wisely 
and  equitably  governed.  The  country,  (as  far  as  1  have  yet 
seen,  and  every  body  tells  me  it  is  the  same  through  all  Ben- 
gal,) is  divided  into  estates  generally  of  a  considerable  size, 
called  ''Zemindarries,"from  "Zemindar,"  a  landholder,  held 
immediately  of  government,  on  payment  of  a  rate  which  was 
fixed  by  Lord  Cornwallis,  and  does  not  increase  with  any  fresh 
improvement  or  inclosure.  These  lands  may  be  sold  or  divided 
by  the  proprietors,  remaining  subject  to  the  tax,  but  cannot  be 
touched  by  the  government  so  long  as  the  tax  is  paid.  The 
great  Zemindars  generally  live  in  Calcutta,  or  the  other  cities, 
where  some  of  them  have  very  splendid  palaces,  underletting 
their  territories  to  dewans  or  stewards,  answering  to  what  the 
Scots  call  tacksmen,  who,  as  well  as  the  smaller  landholders, 
generally  occupy  dingy  brick  buildings,  wdth  scarcely  any 
windows,  and  looking  a  little  like  deserted  manor-houses  in 
England.  Placed  in  the  middle  of  the  villages,  (whose  bam- 
boo huts  seem  far  cooler  and  cleaner  dw^ellings,)  they  are  over- 
hung with  a  dark  and  tangled  shade  of  fruit-trees,  and  sur- 
rounded by  stables,  cow-houses,  threshing-floor,  circular  gran- 
aries raised  on  posts,  and  the  usual  litter  of  a  dirty  and  ill- 
managed  farm;  but  the  persons  who  reside  in  them  are  often 
really  very  wealthy,  and  when  we  meet  them  on  horseback  on 
a  gala-day,  with  their  trains  of  servants,  their  splendid  shawls, 
and  gold  and  silver  trappings,  might  almost  meet  the  European 
notion  of  an  eastern  Raja.  Under  them  the  land  is  divided 
into  a  multitude  of  small  tenements,  of  which  the  cultivators 
are  said  to  be  often  racked  very  high,  though  they  are  none  of 
them  attached  to  the  soil,  but  may  change,  if  aggrieved,  to  any 
landlord  who  is  likely  to  use  them  better.  Round  the  villages 
there  are  large  orchards  of  mangoes,  coco-nuts,  and  plantains, 
together  with  many  small  crofts  enclosed  with  fences  of  aloes, 
prickly  pear,  and  sometimes  pine-apples,  and  cultivated  with 
hemp,  cotton,  sugar-canes,  mustard,  gram,  and  of  late  years, 
with  potatoes  and  some  other  kinds  of  European  vegetables. 
All  beyond  this  is  rice,  cultivated  in  large  open  fields  annually 


CORRESPONDENCE.  253 

overflowed  by  the  Ganges,  or  the  many  canals  which  are  drawn 
from  it,  and  divided  into  little  portions,  or  quillets,  not  laid 
out  like  our  corn-fields  in  ridge  and  furrow,  but  on  a  flat  sur- 
face, the  soil  being  returned  to  its  place  after  the  crop  is  dib- 
bled in,  and  intersected  by  small  ledges  of  earth,  both  to  mark 
property  and  to  retain  the  water  a  sufiicient  time  on  the  surface. 
There  is  no  pasture-ground.  The  cattle,  sheep,  and  goats  are 
allowed,  during  the  day,  to  pick  up  what  they  can  find  in  the 
orchards,  stubbles,  and  fallows,  and  along  the  road  sides,  but 
at  night  are  always  fetched  up  and  fed  with  gram.  No  ma- 
nure is  employed,  the  dung  being  carefully  collected  for  fuel; 
(except  what  little  is  used  by  the  devout  to  rub  their  faces  and 
bodies  with,)  nor,  with  an  occasional  fallow,  (and  this  is,  I  un- 
derstand, but  seldom,)  is  any  other  manure  required  than 
what  the  bountiful  river  affords.  I  have  not  yet  seen  them  at 
plough,  but  am  told  that  their  instruments  are  the  rudest  that 
can  be  conceived;  and,  indeed  their  cattle  are  generally  too 
small  and  weak  to  drag  any  tackle  which  is  not  extremely 
light  and  simple;  yet  their  crops  are  magnificent,  and  the  soil, 
though  much  of  it  has  been  in  constant  cultivation  beyond  the 
reach  of  history,  continues  of  matchless  fertility.  No  where, 
perhaps,  in  the  world,  is  food  attained  in  so  much  abundance, 
and  with  apparently,  so  little  labour.  Few  peasants  work 
more  than  five  or  six  hours  in  the  day,  and  half  their  days  are 
Hindoo  festivals,  when  they  will  not  work  at  all. 

Rent  is  higher  than  I  expected  to  find  it;  in  this  neighbour- 
hood six  rupees,  about  twelve  shillings  the  English  acre, 
seems  an  usual  rate,  which  is  a  great  sum  among  the  Hin- 
doos, and  also  when  compared  with  the  cheapness  of  provi- 
sions and  labour,  about  sixpence  being  as  much  as  a  working 
man  can  earn,  even  as  a  porter,  and  three-pence  being  the 
pay  of  a  labourer  in  husbandry,  while  ordinary  rice  is,  at  an 
average,  less  than  a  half-penny  for  the  weight  of  two  pounds 
English.  In  consequence  I  do  not  apprehend  that  the  pea- 
santry are  ill  off*,  though,  of  course,  they  cannot  live  luxuri- 
ously. Fish  swarm  in  every  part  of  the  river,  and  in  every 
tank  and  ditch.  During  the  wet  months  they  may  be  scooped 
up  with  a  hand-net  in  every  field,  and  procured,  at  all  times, 
at  the  expense  of  a  crooked  nail  and  a  little  plantain  thread. 
They,  therefore,  next  to  rice  and  plantains,  constitute  the 
main  food  of  the  country.  Animal  food  all  the  lower  castes 
of  Hindoos  eat  whenever  they  can  get  it,  beef  and  veal  only 
excepted;  but,  save  fish,  this  is  not  often  in  their  power. 
Except  food,  in  such  a  climate  their  wants  are  of  course  but 
few.  Very  little  clothing  serves,  and  even  this  is  more  worn 
from  decency  than  necessity.  They  have  no  furniture,  ex- 
cept a  cane  bedstead  or  two,  and  some  earthen  or  copper 


254  CORRESPONDENCE. 

pots;  but  they  have  a  full  allowance  of  silver  ornaments,  coral 
beads,  &c.,  which  even  the  lowest  ranks  wear  to  a  considera- 
ble value,  and  which  seem  to  imply  that  they  are  not  ill  off 
for  the  necessaries  of  life,  when  such  superfluities  are  within 
their  reach.  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  learn  the  exact 
amount  of  the  land-tax  paid  to  government.  The  other  taxes 
are  on  cotton,  mustard-oil,  charcoal,  and,  in  general,  the  dif- 
ferent articles  brought  to  market,  except  rice  and  fruit;  they 
are  not  high,  at  least  they  would  not  be  thought  so  in  Europe; 
and  of  the  whole  thus  collected,  one  half  is  laid  out  in  mak- 
ing and  repairing  roads,  bridges,  tanks,  canals,  and  other 
public  works.  The  Company  have  a  monopoly  of  salt  and 
opium,  the  former  being  only  made  at  the  public  works, 
the  latter  grown  on  the  public  domains.  The  former  is,  how- 
ever, sold  at  a  rate  which,  in  England,  we  should  think  low, 
about  four  shillings  the  bushel;  and  the  latter  is  chiefly  for 
exportation.  Justice  is,  as  you  are  aware,  administered  in 
Calcutta  by  the  Supreme  Court,  according  to  English  law, 
but  elsewhere  by  local  judges  appointed  by  the  Company, 
from  whom  an  appeal  lies  to  a  separate  court  at  Calcutta,  call- 
ed the  Sudder  Dewanne,  which  is  guided  by  the  Hindoo  and 
Mussulman  code,  drawn  up  by  Sir  W.  Jones.  Of  the  Eng- 
lish criminal  law,  those  Hindoos  with  whom  I  have  conversed 
speak  highly,  and  think  it  a  great  security  to  live  in  Calcutta 
where  this  prevails.  Thelocal  judges,  (who  are  all  English,) 
are  often  very  popular,  and  in  general  the  people  seem  to  al- 
low that  justice  is  honestly  administered;  and  my  informants 
have  spoken  of  the  advantages  possessed  in  these  respects  by 
the  Company's  subjects  over  those  of  Oude,  or  their  own  for- 
mer condition  under  the  Mussulmans.  In  these  points  I 
liave  drawn  my  information  partly  from  a  few  of  the  wealthy 
natives,  who  occasionally  visit  me,  partly  from  my  own  ser- 
vants, whom  I  have  encouraged  to  speak  on  such  subjects,  in 
some  small  degree  from  what  I  have  picked  up  in  my  rides  and 
walks  round  this  place,  and  still  more,  from  the  different  mis- 
sionaries who  mix  with  the  lower  classes,  and  speak  their  lan- 
guage more  fluently  than  most  Europeans  besides.  Perhaps, 
as  I  myself  improve  in  the  language,  I  may  find  that  I  have 
been  in  some  points  misinformed  or  mistaken,  but  I  think  the 
accounts  which  I  have  had  seem  not  unlikely  to  be  correct, 
and  their  result  is  decidedly  favourable  both  as  to  the  general 
condition  of  this  country,  and  the  spirit  in  which  it  is  govern- 
ed  With  regard  to  the  questions  which  have  lately 

occupied  a  good  deal  of  the  public  attention,  the  free  press, 
and  the  power  of  sending  back  Europeans  to  England  at  plea- 
sure, so  far  as  these  bear  on  the  condition  of  the  natives,  and 
the  probable  tranquillity  of  the  country,  I  have  more  to  say 


CORRESPONBENCEt  255 

than  I  have  now  time  for.  On  the  whole,  I  think  it  still  de- 
sirable that,  in  this  country,  the  newspapers  should  be  li- 
censed by  government,  though  from  the  increased  interest 
which  the  Hindoos  and  Mussulmans  take  in  politics,  and  the 
evident  fermentation  which,  either  for  good  or  evil,  is  going 
on  in  the  public  mind,  I  do  not  think  the  measure  can  be  long 
continued.  But  the  power  of  deportation  is,  I  am  convinced, 
essential  to  the  public  peace.  Many  of  the  adventurers  who 
come  hither  from  Europe,  are  the  greatest  profligates  the  sun 
ever  saw;  men  whom  nothing  but  despotism  can  manage,  and 
who,  unless  they  were  really  under  a  despotic  rule,  would 
insult,  beat,  and  plunder  the  natives  without  shame  or  pity. 
Even  now  many  instances  occur  of  insult  and  misconduct, 
for  which  the  prospect  of  immediate  embarkation  for  Europe 
is  the  most  effectual  precaution  or  remedy.  It  is  in  fact  the 
only  control  which  the  Company  possesses  over  the  tradesmen 
and  ship-builders  in  Calcutta,  and  the  indigo  planters  up  the 
country. 

Believe  me,  dear  Sir, 

Ever  your  obliged  and  affectionate, 

R.  Calcutta. 
Titty ghur,  Jan.  27,  1824. 


TO   SIR  ROBERT  H.    INGLIS,   BART. 

Tittyghur,  January  27,  1824. 
My  dear  Inglis, 

I  have  not  now  time  to  write  more  than  a  few  lines,  yet  I 

think  you  will  not  be  sorry  to  hear  of  our  well-doing. 

*  *  *  *  *.  *  * 

Out  of  the  fort  and  streets  of  Calcutta,  which  are,  and  al- 
ways must  be,  "black  holes,"  the  climate  of  India  is,  at  this 
season,  really  delightful,  and  scarcely  to  be  equalled,  I  think, 
by  any  which  Europe  can  offer.  But  alas,  the  time  is  again 
drawing  near  when  we  must  descend  from  Meru  Mountain, 
to  dwell,  for  four  months,  at  least,  *'  with  a  fire  in  our  heart, 
and  a  fire  in  our  brain,"  for  such  the  approaching  hot  season  is 
represented  to  be.  I  am,  however,  well  content  with  my  si- 
tuation, and  almost  all  its  circumstances:  and  though  the 
good  to  be  done  must  be,  for  the  most  part,  of  a  very  silent 
kind,  and  one  whose  fruits  may  not  be  apparent,  till  the  pre- 
sent race  of  husbandmen,  and,  possibly,  many  after  them, 
shall  be  gone  to  rest,  yet  any  man  may  count  himself  highly 
honoured  in  being  thought  worthy  to  labour  here,  however  ob- 
scurely. A  good  deal  of  my  attention^  during  my  short  resi- 

VoL.  II.— 22 


256  CORRESPONDENCE. 

(lence,  has  been  paid  to  the  difterent  sects  of  Oriental  Chris- 
tians, particularly  the  Greeks  and  Armenians,  of  whom  a 
greater  number  than  I  had  expected  reside  both  in  Calcutta 
and  Decca,  and  of  whom  many  solitary  individuals  are  scatter- 
ed all  over  the  East.  I  find  their  clergy  well  pleased  by  being 
noticed  5  and  not  unwilling  to  borrow  books,  &c.  and  trust 
that  eventually,  some  more  extensive  good  may  be  done  by 
these  means. 


Dear  Inglis, 

Ever  your  obliged  and  faithful  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  THE  REV.    E.   T.    S.    HORNBY. 

February  5,  1824. 
My  dear  Friend, 

■)f:  *  *  -*  -*  *  * 

-SJ  *  *  '^  *  *  « 

Among  the  clergy  I  have  several  well-informed  and  amia- 
ble men,  who  are  sincerely  zealous  in   their  calling,  and 
active  in  the   improvement  both  of   their  own  countrymen 
and  the  heathen.     We  are,  however,  sadly  too  few  for  the 
work  before  us.    Of  the  small  number  of  Chaplains  which 
the  Company  supplies,  nearly  half  are  absent  on  furlough 
for  ill   health,  and  the  few  missionaries  are  quite  unequal 
to  supply  the   vacancies  thus  occasioned  in  many  import- 
ant  stations,   even  if  it  were  possible  or  desirable  to  with- 
draw them  from  their  appropriate  sphere  of  action,  and,  more 
particularly  from  the  management  of  those  schools  which  are, 
of  all  others,  the  most  likely  means  to  open  the  eyes,  and  ame- 
liorate the  worldly  and  spiritual  condition  of  the  vast  multi- 
tudes who  are  now  not  merely  willing  to  receive,  but  absolute- 
ly courting  instruction.     It  is  in  fact,  the  want  of  means  on 
the  part  of  the  teachers,  and  not  any  of  that  invincible  repug- 
nance so  often  supposed  to  exist  on  the  part  of  the  Hindoos, 
^vhich,  in  my  opinion,  must  make  the  progress  of  the  Gospel 
slow  in  India.     Those  who  think  otherwise  have,  I  suspect, 
either  never  really  desired  the  improvement  w  hich  they  affect 
to  regard  as  impossible,  or  by  raising  their  expectations,  in 
the  first  instance,  too  high,  have  been  the  cause  of  their  own 
disappointment.     We  cannot  work  miracles,  and  it  is  idle  to 
suppose  that  thirty  or  forty  Missionaries,  (for  this  is,  perhaps, 
the  full  number,  including  all  Protestant  sects  throughout  all 
India,)  can  have  in  ten  or  a  dozen  years,  (for  a  longer  time 


CORRESPONDENCE.  257 

has  scarcely  occurred  since  the  work  was  set  about  in  good 
earnest,)  so  much  as  conveyed  the  name  of  the  Gospel  to 
more  than  a  very  small  part  of  a  nation  containing  100,000,000 
inhabitants,  and  scattered  over  a  country  of  1,500,000  square 
miles.  It  is  no  less  idle  to  expect  that  any  nation,  or  any  great 
numbers  in  a  nation,  will  change  the  ancient  system  of  faith 
at  once,  or  otherwise  than  by  very  slow  degrees,  and  with 
a  great  reluctance,  a  reluctance  not  likely  to  be  lessened 
when  the  new  creed  is  offered  them  by  a  race  of  foreign  con- 
querors, speaking  their  language  for  the  most  part  very  im- 
perfectly.    But  we  have  found,  in  spite  of  these  obstacles, 
that  some  Hindoos  and  Mussulmans  of  respectable  rank  and 
considerable   acquirements,    (few,    indeed   in   number,    but 
enough  to  show  that  the  thing  is  not  impossible,)  have,  from  mo- 
tives the  most  obviously  disinterested,  (since  nothing  is  to  be 
got  by  turning  Christian  but  the  ill-will  of  their  old  friends, 
and,  in  most  instances  hitherto,  the  suspicion  and  discounte- 
nance of  their  new  rulers,)  embraced  and  adhered  to  Chris- 
tianity. It  is  obvious  even  to  a  careless  observer,  that  in  Ben- 
gal at  least,  the  wealthier  natives  are  imitating  the  English  in 
very  many  particulars  in  dress,  buildings,  and  domestic  econo- 
my, and  that  a  change,  either  for  evil  or  good,  of  a  most  exten- 
sive and  remarkable  nature  is  fermenting  in  the  native  mind; 
and  I  am  convinced  from  the  success  of  the  experiment  so  far 
as  it  has  yet  been  tried,  that  nothing  but  the  want  of  means 
prevents  the  introduction  of  schools,  like  those  now  supported 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Calcutta  and  at  Burdwan,  by  the 
Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge,  and  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  in  every  village  of  Bengal,  not  only  with 
the  concurrence,  but  with  the  gratitude  of  the  natives. 


Meantime  you  must  not  suppose  that  the  cares  of  a  preacher 
of  the  Gospel  can  apply  to  the  heathen  only^  a  very  numerous 
population  of  nominal  Christians  is  rising  round  us,  the  chil- 
dren of  European  fathers  and  native  women,  who  have  been, 
till  lately,  shamefully  neglected,  but  who  show  a  readiness  to 
receive  instruction,  and  a  zeal,  generally  speaking,  for  the  faith 
and  the  Church  establishment  of  the  parent  country,  whidi 
should  make  that  country  blush  for  the  scanty  aids  which  she 
has  hitherto  afforded  them.  From  these  a  considerable  pro- 
portion of  my  congregations  in  Calcutta  are  made  up,  and  of 
these  235  young  persons  whom  I  confirmed  there  the  day  be- 
fore yesterday  chiefly  consisted.  All  these  are  circumstances 
which  may  well  encourage  a  man  to  exert  himself. 

*  *  *  *  .'^  ^'^  ¥■■ 


25S 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Adieu,  dear  Hornby;  let  me  hope  sometimes  to  hear  from 
you,  and  believe  me, 

Ever  you  affectionate  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MISS  TODD. 


Tittyghur,  February  26),  1824. 

Such,  my  dear  Charlotte,  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  appearance 
and  condition  of  some  forty  millions  of  peasantry  subject  to 
British  rule;  very  poor,  as  their  appearance  sufficiently  indi- 
cates, at  least  in  those  points  where  an  Englishman  places  his 
ideas  of  comfort  and  prosperity.  Yet  not  so  poor,  and  not  by 
any  means  so  rude  and  wild  as  their  scanty  dress  and  simple 
habitations  would  at  first  lead  an  Englishman  to  imagine.  The 
silver  ornaments  which  the  young  woman  wears,  on  her  ankles, 
arms,  forehead,  and  in  her  nose,  joined  to  the  similar  decora- 
tions on  her  children's  arms  would  more  than  buy  all  the 
clothes  and  finery  of  the  smartest  servant-girl  in  England,— 
and  the  men  are,  in  all  probability,  well  taught  in  reading  and 
writing,  after  their  own  manner,  while  the  little  boy,  perhaps, 
is  one  of  my  scholars,  and  could  cast  an  account  and  repeat 
the  Lord's  Prayer  with  any  child  of  the  same  age  in  England. 
The  plant  which  overshadows  the  cow  and  goat  is  a  bamboo, 
the  tall  palm  in  the  distance  is  a  coco,  that  which  hangs  over 
the  old  mother  of  the  family  is  a  plantain,  and  the  creeper  on 
the  thatched  cottage  a  beautiful  fast  growing  gourd,  of  the  very- 
kind  I  could  fancy  which  obtained  so  fast  hold  on  Jonah's 
affections.     The  style  of  carrying  the  child  astride  on  one  hip, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  259 

the  manner  in  which  the  water-pot  is  balanced,  and  the  red 
paint,  a  mark  of  caste,  as  well  as  the  diminutive  size  and  high 
hump  of  the  cow,  what  we  usually  see  here;  and  though  the 
groupe  itself  is  from  fancy,  all  the  different  objects  are  as 
faithful  representations  of  nature  as  my  skill  enabled  me  to 
make.  The  sketch  may  give  you  some  little  idea  of  the  scenes 
we  meet  with  in  our  morning  rides. 


At  present  I  am  not  aware  that  I  have  much  news  to  tell 
you,  or  that  I  have  many  circumstances  to  add  to  the  de- 
scription of  Bengal  which  I  have  already  furnished.  Our 
lives  for  the  last  six  weeks  have  been  passed  in  great  general 
retirement, 


but  so  much  and  so  many  things  are  to  be  done,  that  I  am 
often  completely  tired  out  before  the  day  is  ended,  and  yet 
have  to  regret  many  omissions.  One  considerable  source  of 
labour  has  been  the  number  of  sermons  I  have  had  to  com- 
pose. 

*  *  *  *  *  »  3tt 

There  is  so  grievous  a  want  of  Chaplains  on  the  Bengal  es- 
tablishment, that  both  the  Archdeacon  and  myself  are  obliged 
to  preach  quite  as  often,  and  sometimes  oftener,  in  the  Sun- 
day, than  I  ever  did  at  Hodnet. 

******* 

The  country  is  now  splendidly  beautiful.  The  tall  timber 
trees  which  delighted  us  with  their  shade  and  verdure  when 
we  landed,  are  now  many  of  them  covered  with  splendid 
flowers,  literally  hot-house  flowering  shrubs,  thirty  or  forty 
feet-  high,  and  the  fragrance  of  a  drive  through  the  park  at 
Barrackpoor,  is  answerable  to  the  dimensions  of  this  Brob- 
dignag  parterre.  Some  of  the  trees,  and  those  large  ones 
too,  lose  their  leaves  entirely  at  this  season,  throwing  out 
large  crimson  and  yellow  flowers  in  their  place. 


Believe  me  ever  your  faithful  and  affectionate  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 

02* 


260  CORRESPOXDENCS. 

TO  THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE  CHARLES  W.  WILLIAMS  WTNN^ 

Calcutta,  May  27,  1824. 
My  dear  Wynn, 

I  have  two  most  kind  and  interesting  letters  to  thank  yo^ 
for. 

Ht  *  *  *  «  ;(^  « 

I  have  now,  alas!  to  announce  the  death  of  the  poor  chief  jus- 
tice, who,  after  a  week's  struggle  with  one  of  the  country- 
fevers,  but  too  common  at  this  time  of  year,  breathed  his  last 
yesterday  morning,  at  a  little  after  four,  having  enjoyed  his 
office  in  India  exactly,  even  to  a  day,  the  same  time,  six 
weeks,  which  his  predecessor  did.  For  the  last  thirty-six 
hours  he  had  been,  generally  speaking,  delirious,  having  from 
the  beginning  exhibited  symptoms  of  a  tendency  of  blood  to  the 
head^  but  down  to  that  time  I  had  seen  him  every  day,  and 
though  he  was  much  reduced,  had  few  apprehensions  that  the 
disorder  would  take  so  malignant  a  turn.  He  was  buried 
yesterday  evening,  (for  in  this  climate  no  lying-in -state  is 
ever  thought  of,)  with  the  usual  military  honours,  and  attend- 
ed to  his  grave  by  a  more  than  the  usual  show  of  the  military 
functionaries  of  Calcutta.  I  read  the  service,  and  all  the 
Clergy  attended.  He  had  already  become  a  great  and  gene- 
ral favourite,  both  with  Europeans  and  natives,  from  his  cor- 
dial and  friendly  manners,  the  sensible  and  unaffected  way 
in  which  he  had  commenced  his  judicial  functions,  and,  (with 
the  natives  more  particularly,)  from  the  pains  he,  like  poor 
Biosset,  was  taking  to  learn  the  language.  Lady  Puller  has 
borne  up  admirably;  her  boy  has  been  a  great  comfort  to  her, 
and  has  evinced,  in  his  whole  conduct,  a  very  amiable  and 
aftectionate  disposition,  and  a  self-command,  judgment,  and 

discrimination  beyond  his  years. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

She  has  determined,  and  I  think  wisely,  to  return  by  the  same 
vessel,  the  Paget,  which  brought  them  out!  The  contrast  will, 
indeed,  be  very  painful,  between  her  situation  now,  and  what 
it  was  then,  but  both  she  and  her  husband  were  much  pleased 
with  the  conduct  of  the  Paget's  captain,  (Geary,)  and  she  will 
probably  find  herself  less  forlorn  with  him  than  among  total 
strangers.  We  asked  them  to  our  house,  and  they  had  a  si- 
milar invitation  from  Lord  Amherst,  but  they  have  preferred 
remaining  during  the  short  time  which  they  spend  in  India 
in  the  government  house  in  Fort  William  in  which  they  had 
succeeded  us.  Poor  Puller  was  unfortunate  in  arriving  at 
the  worst  season  of  the  year,  and  a  season  which,  everybody 
says,  has  been  peculiarly  hot  and  unwholesome.     Some  days, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  2&1 

indeed,  during  this  month  have  been  almost  deserving  the 
name  of  ''terrible."  Bj  shutting  all  the  windows  close,  by 
darkening  the  room  to  the  lowest  ebb  of  visibility,  and  sitting 
as  lightly  dressed  as  possible  under  the  constant  ventilation 
of  a  punkah,  one  got  through  the  morning  pretty  well,  and  I 
found  no  want  of  disposition  or  ability  either  to  write  or  study. 
But  if  a  window  or  a  door  was  opened,  the  stream  of  hot  air 
came  in,  without  the  least  exaggeration,  like  what  you  may 
have  felt  at  the  mouth  of  a  blast  furnace.  Had  our  kind- 
hearted  friend  arrived  in  a  more  favourable  season  he  might 
perhaps  liave  been  spared  to  us.  But  these  thoughts  are  worse 
than  idle. 

The  air  has  been  within  these  few  days  greatly  cooled  by 
some  pretty  strong  north-westers,  with  their  usual  accompani- 
ments of  thunder,  (and  such  thunder  !)  lightning,  and  rain. 
One  of  these  storms,  I  regret  to  say,  has  blown  down  a  large 
range  of  brick  stabling  at  Benares,  and  killed  several  men 
and  many  horses.  But  at  Calcutta  they  have  done  no  harm 
that  I  have  heard  of,  while  their  reviving  effects  on  man,  beast, 
bird,  and  vegetable,  have  really  been  little  less  than  magical. 
These  showers  are  now,  indeed,  becoming  more  frequent  and 
attended  with  less  wind,  and  an  early  setting-in  of  the  rain  is 
predicted,  of  which  I  hope  to  take  advantage  for  my  voyage 
up  the  country.  My  journey,  alas  I  will  not  be  so  pleasant  as 
I  anticipated,  since,  on  the  concurrent  representations  of  all 
our  medical  advisers,  my  wife  and  children  remain  behind^ 

and  we  shall  be  separated  for  half  a  year  at  least. 

*■  *  *  *  *  *  -^^ 

Dacca  will  be  the  first  place  I  shall  visit ;  there  is  a  church 
to  consecrate  there ;  a  good  many  candidates  for  confirmation^ 
and  some  Greek  Christians  with  whom  I  wish  to  get  on  the 
same  amicable  terms  as  I  am  with  their  countrymen  at  Cal- 
cutta. Nor  am  I  insensible  to  the  desire  of  seeing  one  of  the 
most  ancient  and  singular  cities  of  India,  and  of  obtaining  a 
nearer  view  of  the  Sunderbunds,  the  main  stream  of  the  Gan- 
ges, and  the  yet  mightier  Megna. 

I  held  my  first  visitation  this  morning  at  six  o'clock,  to 
avoid  the  heat  of  the  day.  We  had  the  first  fruits  of  the  Gen- 
tile  Church  in  India,  in  the  person  of  Christian  David,  a  black 
catechist  in  Ceylon,  and  a  pupil  of  the  celebrated  Schwartz, 
whom,  at  the  desire  of  Sir  Edward  Barnes,  I  admitted  to  Dea- 
con's orders.  The  poor  man,  who  had  journeyed  to  Calcutta, 
via  Madras,  to  obtain  them,  is  really  a  very  clever,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  most  simple  and  artless  creature.  He  knows  no 
Latin,  but  speaks  English,  Tamul,  Cingalese,  and  Portuguese 
fluently,  and  passed  a  good,  though  a  very  Indian  and  charac- 
teristic examination.     He  is  to  dine  with  me  to-day  to  meet 


262  CORRESPONDENCE. 

the  Company's  Chaplains  and  Church  of  England  Mission- 
aries, as  usual  on  visitation  day,  and  the  business  being  in  some 
degree  the  triumph  of  the  episcopal  cause  in  the  east,  I  have 
also  asked  the  Protopapas  of  the  Greeks,  the  Archimandrite 
of  the  Armenians,  v^^ith  certain  of  their  subordinate  monks 
from  mount  Sinai  and  Nakitchavan.  It  will  be  an  odd  party, 
but  the  fact  is  that  I  have  been  sometimes  tempted  to  flatter 
myself  with  the  hopes  of  effectually  "reconciling"  them.  At 
least  1  think  it  not  impossible  for  the  Church  of  England  to 
acquire  a  sort  of  influence  over  their  minds,  separated  as  they 
are  by  a  vast  interval  from  their  own  ecclesiastical  superiors, 
which  may  enable  us  to  do  them  much  good,  and  to  convey 
much  valuable  instruction  to  them,  which  they  otherwise  would 
be  very  slow  to  receive  from  us. 

Adieu,  dear  Wynn, 
Believe  me  everyour  obliged  and  aftectionate  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 

God  bless  you  once  more  !  In  proportion  as  friends  drop 
off,  those  who  are  left  become  doubly  dear.  I  have  mourned 
for  poor  Puller  sincerely,  but  what  should  I  do  for  you  } 


TO  MRS.  R.  HEBER. 

On  the  Chundnahj  June  28,  1824. 
My  dear  Love, 

We  are  still  in  this  labyrinth  of  rivers,  and  likely  to  be 
several  days  yet  before  we  reach  Dacca.  Mr.  Master,  how- 
ever, has  kindly  forwarded  your  packets  to  me,  and  I  write 
back  by  his  dak -boat,  which,  being  small  and  light,  will  be 
there  on  Wednesday.  Thank  you  for  your  interesting  letter. 
I  never  recollect  seeing  your  hand-writing  with  more  or  so 
much  delight  as  now,  since  it  arrived  quite  unexpectedly,  and 
I  had  no  hopes  of  hearing  of  you  before  the  end  of  the  week. 

The  stream  of  all  these  rivers,  or  nearly  all,  has  been  against 
us ;  and  we  had  in  one  place  a  bar  of  sand  to  cut  through, 
which  has  made  our  journey  very  tedious,  though  through  a 
country,  generally  speaking,  as  beautiful  as  groves  and  mea- 
dows can  make  it.  You  will,  I  hope,  ere  this,  have  received 
my  second  packet  of  Journal ;  the  third  I  will  send  from  Dacca. 
We  are  both,  I  think,  gaining  health  fast. 

*  ifr  *  *  *  *  * 

If  you  and  my  dear  children  were  with  me,  I  should  enjoy 
this  way  of  life  much.  Our  weather  has  been,  generally,  good, 
and  all  has  gone  on  well. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  263 


This  course  has,  certainly,  been  a  long  one;  but  I  am,  on 
the  whole,  not  sorry  that  I  preferred  it.  It  has  shown  me  a 
part  of  Bengal  not  usually  traversed  by  Europeans,  and  de- 
cidedly, I  think,  the  most  beautiful.  We  have  had,  indeed, 
no  more  adventures  like  our  ''audience"  at  Sibnibashi,  but  I 
have  some  things  to  send  which  I  trust  will  amuse  you,  and 
I  have  had  opportunities  of  making  four  large  drawings. 
Your  affectionate  husband, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.  R.  HEBER. 

Dacca,  July  10,  1824. 

Poor  Stowe  has  had  a  very  severe  recurrence  of  dysentery. 
He  complained  of  it  in  some  degree  on  Saturday,  so  that  I  left 
him  wind-bound  in  the  pinnace,  rather  than  expose  him  to  the 
chance  of  a  wetting  by  taking  him  on  in  the  jolly-boat  to  Dacca, 
an  expedient  to  which  I  myself  resorted  on  that  day,  in  order 
to  be  in  time  for  church  on  Sunday.  On  Sunday  evening  he 
arrived,  but  so  ill  that  we  had  some  difficulty  in  getting  him 

out  of  his  Cabin  to  Mr.  Master's  house. 

*****■»» 

I  am  quite  well,  except  that  my  shins,  which  I  could  not 
help  exposing  to  the  heat  of  the  sun  in  the  little  boat,  were 
both  burnt  in  the  same  way  as  if  I  had  been  sitting  before  a 
great  fire. 

Dr.  Todd,  the  principal  surgeon  in  the  station  has  consider- 
ed Stowe  as  in  some  danger,  but  to-day  his  opinion  is  more 
favourable.  Pray  tell  his  sister,  (though  I  hope  it  is  almost 
needless,)  that  he  has  and  shall  have,  from  me,  as  great  at- 
tention and  tenderness  as  a  brother  can  show.  .  .  .  I  sit 
in  his  room  as  much  as  I  can,  with  my  books  and  writing,  I 
read  to  him  when  he  is  able  to  attend,  and  we  converse  from 
time  to  time,  while  he  has  more  liking  for  the  tea,  egg-wine, 

&c.  which  I  make  for  him,  than  for  what  his  nurse  prepares. 

******* 

I  have  had  the  confirmation  this  morning;  about  twenty- 
nine  persons  attended,  all  adults. 

Assure  Miss  Stowe  that  her  brother  shall,  in  no  case,  be  hur- 
ried; and  that  I  will  not  leave  Dacca  till  he  can  accompany 
me;  or  should  so  long  a  journey  be  thought  too  much  for  him, 
till  he  is  actually  out  of  all  danger,  and  able  to  return  to  Cal- 
cutta with  safety  and  propriety. 

Adieu'! 

Reginald  Calcutta* 


264  CORRESPONDENCE. 

TO    THE    RIGHT    HONOURABLE    CHARLES    W.    WILLIAMS     WYNN, 

Dacca,  July  13,  1824. 
My  DEAR  Wynn, 

I  sent,  a  few  days  since,  an  official  letter  to  Mr.  Courtenaj, 
announcing  the  intention  of  Archdeacon  Barnes  to  resign  as 
soon  as  his  ten  years  are  expired,  and  his  hope  that  he  may 
be  permitted  to  receive  his  pension  from  the  date  of  such  re- 
signation. By  all  which  I  hear  of  him  in  India,  he  is  well 
deserving  of  any  favour  which  ministers  may  be  able  to  show 
him. 

•T^  -^  Vj*  yF  'jf  ^  ^ 

Should  the  friend  who  now  addresses  you  sink  to  his  last 
sleep  by  some  jungle  side,  I  have  often  thought,  (your  kind- 
ness encourages  me  to  take  this  liberty,)  that  few  men  would 
be  better  qualified,  from  experience,  and  good  sense,  and  good 
character,  to  give  satisfaction  to  the  clergy  and  governments 
of  India.     If  I  am  spared  to  see  him,  which  I  hope  to  do  in 

February  next,  I  may,  perhaps,  give  you  more  information. 

*  *  *  *  -j^  *  *• 

You  will  have  learned,  from  a  former  letter,  my  intention 
of  setting  out  on  a  visitation  of  Bengal,  Bombay,  and  possibly 
Ceylon,  and  the  date  of  my  present  will  show  you  that  I  am 

already  advanced  some  little  way  in  my  journey. 

*  -*  *  *  *  *  * 

Two-thirds  of  the  vast  area  of  Dacca  are  filled  with  ruins, 
some  quite  desolate  and  overgrown  with  jungle,  others  yet 
occupied  by  Mussulman  chieftains,  the  descendants  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  Shah  Jehanguire,  and  all  of  the  *' Lions  of  war," 
"Prudent  and  valiant  Lords,"  "Pillars  of  the  Council," 
"Swords  of  Battle,"  and  whatever  other  names  of  Cawn, 
Emir,  or  Omrah  the  court  of  Delhi  dispensed  in  the  time  of  its 
greatness.  These  are  to  me  a  new  study.  I  had  seen  abun- 
dance of  Hindoo  Baboos,  and  some  few  Rajas  in  Calcutta. 
But  of  the  300,000  inhabitants  who  yet  roost  like  bats  in  these 
old  buildings,  or  rear  their  huts  amid  their  desolate  gardens, 
three-fourths  are  still  Mussulmans,  and  the  few  English,  and 
Armenian,  and  Greek  Christians  who  are  found  here,  are  not 
altogether  more  than  sixty  or  eighty  persons,  who  live  more 
with  the  natives,  and  form  less  of  an  exclusive  society,  than 
is  the  case  in  most  parts  of  British  India.  All  the  Mussul- 
mans of  rank  whom  I  have  yet  seen,  in  their  comparatively 
fair  complexions,  their  graceful  and  dignified  demeanour, 
particularly  on  horseback,  their  showy  dresses,  the  martial 
curl  of  their  whiskers,  and  the  crowd,  bustle,  and  ostentation 
of  their  followers,  far  outshine  any  Hindoos^  but  the  Calcutta 


CORRESPONDENCE.  26$ 

Baboos  leave  them  behind  toto  coelo,  in  the  elegance  of  their 
carriages,  the  beauty  of  their  diamond  rings,  their  Corinthian 
verandahs,  and  the  other  outward  signs  of  thriving  and  luxury. 
Yet  even  amon^  these  Mahommedans,  who  have,  of  course, 
less  reason  to  lilke  us  than  any  other  inhabitants  of  India,  there 
is  a  strong  and  growing  disposition  to  learn  the  English  lan- 
guage, and  to  adopt,  by  degrees,  very  many  of  the  Englisli 
customs  and  fashions. 


The  most  whimsical  instance  of  imitation,  is,  perhaps,  that  of 
Mirza  Ishraf  Ali,  a  Zemindar  of  100,000  acres,  and  with  a 
house  like  a  ruinous  convent,  who  in  his  English  notes,  signs 
his  hereditary  title  of  "  Kureem  Cawn  Bahadur"  in  its  ini- 
tials, K.  C.  B. 


Many  of  the  younger  Mussulmans  of  rank,  who  have  no  hope 
of  advancement  either  in  the  army  or  the  state,  sooner  or  later 
sink  into  sots,  or  kindle  into  deceits  and  rebels.   As  a  remedy 
for  this  evil,  I  have  heard  the  propriety  suggested  of  raising 
corps  of  cavalry  of  the  same  description,  but  of  smaller  num- 
bers than  those  of  Skinner  and  Baddeley,  which  might  be  com- 
manded by  the  natives  of  highest  rank,  but  kept  in  the  Com- 
pany's pay,  and  assimilated,  as  much  as  possible,  to  the  rest 
of  the  army.     They  might  easily,  it  was  said,  be  stationed  so 
as  not  to  be  dangerous,  and  at  the  same  time  to  render  regu- 
lar troops  disposable  for  other  purposes.     The  idea  somewhat 
resembles  tl)at  of  Forbes,  before  the  year  1745,  for  raising 
Highland  regiments,  and  perhaps  it  may  be  true  that  the  best 
way  to  make  men  loyal,  is  to  make  them  respectable  and  com- 
fortable, while  to  keep  them  employed  is  most  likely  to  keep 
them  out  of  mischief.     They  are  not,  however,  the  great  men 
only,  who  are  inclined  to  copy  the  English;  a  desire  of  learn- 
ing our  language  is  almost  universal  even  here,  and  in  these 
waste  bazars  and  sheds,  where  I  should  never  have  expected 
any  thing  of  the  kind,  the  dressing-boxes,  writing-cases,  cutlery, 
chintzes,   pistols,   and  fowling-pieces,  engravings,  and  other 
English  goods,  or  imitations  of  English,  which  are  seen,  evince 
how  fond  of  them  the  middling  and  humbler  classes  have  be- 
come. Here,  too,  a  knowledge  of  the  Christian  Scriptures,  in 
spite  of  the  Abbe  Dubois,  is  rapidly  increasing.     A  Baptist 
missionary  has  established  a  circle  of  26  day  schools,  con- 
taining^ more  than  1000  boys,  who  all  read  the  New  Testament 
as  their  daily  task,  without  any  objection  being  made,  and  had 
the  Church  of  England  Societies  a  missionary  at  present  to 
spare,  he  might  in  a  month  double  the  ijumber.    Of  all  these. 


266  CORRESPONDENCE. 

indeed,  few  will  be  directly  converted,  but  these  examples,  as 
well  as  my  own  experience,  (and  I  think  I  am  now  able  to 
form  an  opinion,)  convince  me  that  the  Hindoostanee  version, 
at  least,  is  neither  unintelligible  nor  contemptible.  If  Chris- 
tian David,  indeed,  is  to  be  believed,  and  I  believe  him  to  be 
a  very  honest  man,  nothing  can  exceed  Dubois's  mendacity  and 
ignorance,  even  with  regard  to  Malabar  and  Coromandel.  But 
of  these  countries  I  trust  to  know  more  hereafter. 

I  have  staid  longer  in  Dacca  than  I  intended,  owing  to  the 
sad  and  severe  illness  of  my  poor  friend  Stowe,  who  two  days 
before  we  arrived,  imprudently  exposed  himself  to  the  two 
worst  poisons  of  the  climate,  by  wading  through  a  marsh  while 
the  sun  was  yet  high.  He  has  been  twelve  days  ill,  and  is  yet 
in  a  very  precarious  state.  His  illness,  indeed,  prevented  me 
from  writing  some  days  ago,  but  he  is  now  asleep,  and  I  have 
fled  to  England,  shall  I  say.^  or  to  Wales.^  for  it  is  Llangedwin 
in  which  my  fancy  always  contemplates  you  with  most  pleasure. 
Wherever  you  are,  Heaven  bless  you  all,  and  may  you  some- 
times think  of  one,  who  though  now  actually  in  "  India  be- 
yond the  Ganges,"  is,  and  ever  must  be. 
Dear  Wynn, 

Your  obliged  and  affectionate  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.    R.    HEBER. 

Dacca,  JuUj  16,  1824. 
My  DEAR  Love, 

All  I  can  say  to  day  is,  that  the  two  surgeons  do  not  think 
matters  worse.  .  .  I  have  prayed  with  poor  Stowe 
every  day,  at  his  request,  since  his  illness  began ^  indeed,  we 
had  always  read  the  Psalms  and  Lessons  together  on  board 
our  boat.  On  Sunday,  by  his  own  anxious  wish,  he  received 
the  Sacrament.  He  is  now  quite  calm,  and  resigned  to  God's 
will,  which  must,  of  itself,  be  a  favourable  circumstance  for 
his  bodily  restoration. 

July  17th. 
You  must  prepare  poor  Miss  Stowe  for  the  worst,  if  that  can 
be  called  the  worst,  which  will  be  to  her  brother,  I  hope  and 
believe,  a  gate  of  everlasting  happiness.  He  is  yet  in  the  full 
possession  of  his  intellects,  and  so  strong,  considering  all  he 
has  gone  through,  that  I  have  been  persuaded  with  difficulty 
to  cease  to  hope.  ...  I  shall  feel  his  loss  very 
deeply.     I  do  think  if  he  lives,  with  his  good  talents,  good 


CORRESPONDENCE.  267 

intentions,  and  tlie  additional  motives  which  a  recollection  of 
the  approach  of  death,  and  gratitude  for  his  deliverance,  may 
give  him,  he  will  be  a  most  valuable  servant  of  God  in  India* 
Nor  is  it  a  trifling  circumstance  of  com- 
fort tome,  that,  if  he  lives,  I  shall  think  that  my  nursing,  and 
his  unbounded  confidence  in  me,  will  have  been,  under  God, 
the  chief  means  of  tranquillizing  his  mind,  supporting  his 
strength,  and  saving  him. 

God  bless  you, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.    R.    HEBER. 

Daccttt  July  18, 1824 
My  dear  Wife, 

All  is  over!  My  poor  friend  was  released  a  little  after 
twelve  last  night.  The  light-headedness  which  in  dysentery, 
I  find  is  always  a  fatal  symptom,  encreased  during  the  day, 
though  he  continued  to  know  me,  and  to  do  and  take  what- 
ever 1  desired  him;  between  nine  and  ten,  he  had  a  severe  re- 
turn of  spasm,  after  which  he  sunk  into  a  tranquil  doze  till  he 
passed  off  without  a  groan.  I  grieve  to  find  by  your  letter 
that  his  sister  is  set  out  hither;  surely  there  will  yet  be  time 
to  bring  her  back  again,  and  spare  her  some  of  the  horrors  of 
a  journey  made  in  doubtful  hope,  and  a  return  in  solitude  and 
misery. 

I  greatly  regret  that  anything  in  my  letters  gave  encourage- 
ment to  her  to  set  off.  But  I  have  all  along  clung,  even  against 
hope,  to  the  hope  of  his  recovery. 

On  the  14th  and  15th,  he  altered  much  for  the  worse,  and 
it  was  on  the  evening  of  the  latter  day  that  he  was  first  con- 
vinced his  end  was  drawing  near,  and  begged  me  to  be  with 
him  when  the  hour  came.  You  will  not  doubt  that  I  kept  my 
promise,  though  he  was  not  conscious  of  my  presence.  As  he 
was  fully  sensible  of  the  approach  of  death,  so  he  was  ad- 
mirably prepared  for  it.  From  the  very  beginning  of  our  jour- 
ney, we  had  prayed  and  read  the  Scriptures  together  daily; 
on  the  last  Sunday  which  we  saw,  we  had  received  the  sacra- 
ment together;  I  trust  I  shall  never  forget  the  deep  contrition 
and  humility,  the  earnest  prayer,  or  the  earnest  faith  in  the 
mercies  of  Christ,  with  which  he  commended  himself  to  God. 
On  Thursday  he  had  an  awful  mental  stru<»;gle,  but  confessed 
his  sins,  and  cried  for  mercy  to  Jesus  Clirist  with  a  siniplicitv, 
contrition  and  humility  which  I  shall  never  forget,  and  I  trust 
always  be  the  better  for.     By  degrees  liis  fears  became  less, 

V6l.    II.— 23 


268  CORRESPONDENCE. 

his  faith  stronger,  and  his  hope  more  lively;  and  he  told  me 
at  many  different  times  in  the  following  thirty-six  hours,  that 
God's  goodness  was  making  the  passage  more  and  more  easy 
to  him,  and  that  he  felt  more  and  more  that  Christ  had  died 
for  sinners.  When  his  strength  was  gradually  wearing  away, 
he  said,  "If  I  lose  sight  of  the  Cross,  though  but  for  a  mo- 
ment, I  am  ready  to  despair;  but  my  blessed  Lord  makes  his 
mercy  and  his  power  more  and  more  plain  to  me."  The  lau- 
danum, which  was  given  to  him  in  the  course  of  Friday  night, 
conjured  up  some  evil  dreams,  of  which  he  complained  a  good 
deal;  being  very  much  worn  out  myself,  I  had  gone  to  lie 
down  for  an  hour  or  two,  leaving  him  asleep  under  the  care 
of  one  of  his  surgeons.  He  wakened,  however,  soon  after,  and 
called  earnestly  for  me,  and  when  I  came  threw  his  arms  round 
my  neck,  and  begged  me  not  to  leave  him.  After  we  had 
prayed  a  little  together,  he  said,  "  My  head  is  sadly  confused 
witii  this  horrid  drug,  but  I  now  recollect  all  which  you  told 
me,  and  which  I  myself  experienced  yesterday,  of  God's  good- 
ness in  his  Son.  Do  not  let  them  give  me  any  more,  for  it 
prevents  my  praying  to  God  as  I  could  wish  to  do."  He 
spoke  very  often,  of  his  ''  poor,  poor  sister,"  and  said,  *'  God, 
who  is  so  good  to  a  sinner  like  me,  will  not  forget  her."  He 
asked,  which  you  will  not  doubt  I  promised  for  us  both,  that 
w^e  would  be  a  sister  and  a  brother  to  her.  He  said,  not  long 
before  his  light-headed ncss  came  on,  on  Saturday  morning, 
*'  Tell  Mrs.  Heber  that  I  think  of  her,  and  pray  for  her  in  this 
hour."  After  his  hallucination  commenced,  he  rambled  very 
much  about  our  voyage,  but  whenever  I  spoke  to  him,  it  re- 
called him  for  the  moment,  and  he  listened  and  said  Amen, 
to  some  of  the  Church  prayers  for  the  dying.  ''It  is  very 
strange,"  he  once  said,  "every  thing  changes  round  me.  I 
cannot  make  out  where  I  am,  or  Avhat  has  happened,  but  your 
face  I  always  see  near  me,  and  I  recollect  what  you  have 
been  saying. "  The  last  articulate  words  he  uttered  were 
about  his  sister.  Even  in  this  incoherence,  it  was  comfortable 
to  find  that  no  gloomy  ideas  intruded,  that  he  kept  up  some 
shadow  of  his  hope  in  God,  even  w4ien  his  intellect  was  most 
clouded,  and  that  his  last  day  of  life  was  certainly,  on  the  whole, 
not  a  day  of  suffering.  After  death,  his  countenance  was 
singularly  calm  and  beautiful,  and  not  like  a  corpse  so  much 
as  a  statue.     I  myself  closed  his  eyes. 

One  lesson  has  been  very  deeply  imprinted  in  my  heart  by 
these  few  days.  If  this  man's  innocent  and  useful  life,  (for  I 
have  no  reason  to  doubt  thatthe  greater  part  of  his  life  has  been 
botli  innocent  and  useful,)  offered  so  many  painful  recollec- 
tions, and  called  forth  such  deep  contrition,  when  in  the  hour 
of  death  he  came  to  examine  everv  instance  of  omission  or 


CORRESPONDENCE.  269 

transgression,  how  careful  must  we  be  to  improve  every  hour 
and  every  opportunity  of  grace,  and  so  to  remember  God 
while  we  live,  that  we  may  not  be  afraid  to  think  on  him  when 
dyin«-l  And  above  all,  how  blessed  and  necessary  is  the  blood 
of  Christ  to  us  all,  which  was  poor  Stowe's  only  and  effectual 

comfort. 

******* 

God  bless  you,  dear  love,  in  your  approaching  voyage. 
How  delighted  I  should  be  to  meet  you  at  Boglipoor. 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.  R.    HEBER. 

Dacctty  July  19, 1824o 
Dearest  Wife, 

Poor  Stowe  was  buried  yesterday  in  the  cemetery  which  I 
had  consecrated  just  a  week  before.  All  the  gentlemen  of  the 
station,  as  well  as  the  military  officers,  attended  unsolicited, 
and  his  body  was  borne  to  the  grave  by  a  detachment  of  Eu- 
ropean artillerymen,  who,  though  it  was  the  custom  on  such 
occasions  for  the  coffin  to  be  carried,  when  out  of  the  city,  by 
native  bearers,  refused  to  allow  any  persons  but  themselves 
"  to  touch  the  gentleman. "  Mr.  Parish  read  the  service,  and 
I  went  as  chief  mourner.  Sincerely  as  I  have  mourned,  and 
do  mourn  him  continually,  the  moment  perhaps  at  which  I 
felt  his  loss  most  keenly  was  on  my  return  to  this  house.  I 
had  always  after  airings,  or  other  short  absences,  been  accus- 
tomed to  run  up  immediately-to  his  room  to  ask  about  his  me- 
dicines and  his  nourishment,  to  find  if  he  had  wanted  any 
thing  during  my  absence,  and  to  tell  him  what  I  had  seen  and 
heard.  And  now,  as  I  went  up  stairs,  I  felt  most  painfully 
that  the  object  of  my  solicitude  was  gone,  and  that  there  was 
nobody  now  to  derive  comfort  or  help  from  my  coming,  or 
whose  eyes  would  faintly  sparkle  as  I  opened  the  door.  I  felt 
my  heart  sick,  and  inclined  to  accuse  myself,  as  usual,  of  not 
having  valued  my  poor  friend  sufficiently  while  I  had  him, 
and  of  having  paid  during  the  vo^^age  too  little  attention  to 
the  state  of  his  health;  yet,  from  the  hour  I  knew  he  was  se- 
riously ill,  thank  God  1  I  can  find  nothing  of  wilful  neglect  to 
reproach  myself  with,  though  some  things  I  might  have  done 
better,  if  I  had  not  myself  been  in  some  respects  unwell,  and 
if  I  had  not  been  constantly  occupied  with  business  and  cor- 
respondence. But  I  hope  I  did  what  I  could  during  the  few 
last  days,  and  when  his  danger  was  told  me,  I  gave  up  every 
thing  to  him,  and  neither  read  nor  wrote,  nor  paid  or  received 


270  CORRESPONDENCE.     ' 

visits,  nor  even  went  out  of  his  room  for  a  moment,  except  for 
very  short  and  hurried  meals. 

It  will  be  long  before  I  forget  the  guilelessness  of  his  na- 
ture, the  interest  which  he  felt  and  expressed  in  all  the  beau- 
tiful and  sequestered  scenery  which  we  passed  through,  his 
anxiety  to  be  useful  to  me  in  any  way  whixh  I  could  point  out 
to  him,  (he  was  indeed  very  useful,*)  and  above  all  the  unaf- 
fected pleasure  which  he  took  in  discussing  religious  subjects, 
his  diligence  in  studying  the  Bible,  and  the  fearless  humanity 
with  which  he  examined  the  case,  and  administered  to  the 
wants  of  nine  poor  Hindoos,  the  crew  of  a  salt-barge,  whom, 
as  I  mentioned  in  my  Journal,  we  found  lying  sick  together 
of  a  jungle  fever,  unable  to  leave  the  place  where  they  lay, 
and  unaided  by  the  neighbouring  villages.  I  then  little  thought 
how  soon  he  in  his  turn  would  require  the  aid  he  gave  so  cheer- 
fully. 

I  have  been  to-day  settling  his  affairs,  and  looking  over  his 
papers.  I  yet  hope  to  hear  by  to-morrow's  post  that  you 
have  been  able  to  prevent  his  sister's  wretched  voyage.  Adieu, 
the  post  is  going  out. 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.    R.    HEBER. 

Dacca,  Julij  21,  1824. 

I  have  been  sadly  disappointed  at  not  hearing  from  you  to- 
day, but  the  cause  has  been  explained  by  the  increase  of  the 

inundation  and  the  consequent  delays  of  the  Dak I 

have,  I  believe,  lost  little  by  these  three  days'  delay,  as  the 
wind  has  been  contrary,  and  I,  to  say  the  truth,  have  had  so 
severe  a  boil  on  the  cap  of  my  knee,  that  I  am  hardly  fit  to 
undertake  a  journey.  I  have  had  it  coming  on  some  time, 
and  not  being  able  to  rest  it,  and  irritating  it  still  more  by 
want  of  sleep,  it  had  become  very  painful  indeed,  and  at  this 
moment  keeps  me  a  close  prisoner.  The  boat  will  be  a  good 
place  for  my  convalescence^  but  in  the  mean  time  I  have  been 
better  here. 

Mr.  Todd  has  absolutely  refused  to  receive  any  fee  for  his 
attendance  upon  poor  Stowe;  his  conduct  has  throughout  been 
admirable.  He  seldom  failed  to  call  four  and  sometimes  five 
times  a  day.  He  latterly  always  sate  with  Stowe  during  the 
times  that  1  was  forced  to  leave  him,  and  he  and  Mr.  Patter- 
son, by  turns,  sate  up  the  greater  part  of  the  three  last  nights, 
to  watch  any  turn  which  might  be  taken  advantage  of.  .  . 
Indeed  it  may  be  a  melancholy  comfort  to  Miss  Stowe  to  know 


CORRESPONDENCEc  271 

how  much  interest  her  brother's  youth,  recent  arrival  in  India, 
and,  perhaps,  the  manner  in  which  his  medical  attendants 
spoke  of  him,  excited  in  the  whole  station.  Every  day  pre- 
sents of  fruits,  jellies,  things  which  were  thought  good  for  him, 
and  books  supposed  to  be  likely  to  illustrate  his  case  or  amuse 
him,  came  from  one  quarter  or  another,  not  only  from  the  Eu- 
ropeans, but  from  the  Nawab  and  Mirza  Israf  Ali,  while,  to 
Mr.  Master's  brotherly  kindness,  I  am  more  indebted  than  I 
can  say. 

And  thus  ends  my  visit  to  Dacca!  a  place  which,  more  than 
most  others  in  India,  I  was  anxious  to  visit;  my  visit  to  which 
was  opposed  by  obstacles  so  numerous,  and  at  which  I  have 
passed,  perhaps,  the  most  melancholy  and  forlorn  three  weeks 
I  ever  remember.  God's  will  be  done!  I  have  acted,  as  I 
thought  for  the  best,  and  I  now  go  on,  though  alone  and  sor- 
rowful, with  an  entire  trust  in  His  Providence  and  goodness. 
To  think  that  I  may,  perhaps,  in  three  weeks  more,  meet  my 
beloved  wife  and  children,  is  itself  enough  to  give  me  courage. 

This  letter  is  a  sad  scrawl,  but  most  of  it  has  been  written 
on  the  bed.  I  send  you  another  curiosity  which  arrived  to- 
day from  two  Armenian  Bishops  of  Ecmiazin,  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Ararat,  and  Jerusalem !  What  ideas  such  names  would 
have  excited  in  England ! 

Adieu,  dear  Love! 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MISS  STOWE. 


FurreedpooTt  July^  1824. 
With  a  heavy  heart,  my  dear  Miss  Stowe,  I  send  you  the 
enclosed  keys.  How  to  offer  you  consolation  in  your  present 
grief,  I  knew  not;  for  by  my  own  deep  sense  of  the  loss  of  an 
excellent  friend,  I  know  how  much  heavier  is  your  burden. 
Yet  even  the  many  amiable  qualities  of  your  dear  brother, 
joined  with  that  deep  Christian  humility  and  reliance  on  his 
Saviour  which  he  evinced  in  his  illness,  Avhile  they  make  our 
loss  the  heavier,  should  lead  us  to  recollect  that  the  loss  is 
ours  only;  that,  prepared  as  he  was  to  die,  it  was  his  unspeak- 
able gain  to  be  removed  from  a  world  in  which  he  had  many 
sorrows;  and  above  all,  that  your  separation  from  him  will 
only  be  for  a  time,  and  until  He.  who  has  hidden  him  from 
your  eyes  shall  restore  you  to  his  society  in  a  happy  and  eter- 
nal state  of  existence.  Separation  of  one  kind  or  another  is, 
indeed,  one  of  the  most  frequent  trials  to  which  affectionate 

23* 


272  CORRESPONDENCE. 

hearts  are  exposed.  And  if  you  can  only  regard  your  brother 
as  removed  for  his  own  advantage  to  a  distant  country,  you 
will  find,  perhaps,  some  of  that  misery  alleviated  under  which 
you  now  are  suffering.  Had  you  remained  in  England  when 
he  came  out  hither,  you  would  have  been,  for  a  time,  divided 
no  less  effectually  than  you  are  now.  The  difference  of  hear- 
ing from  him  is  almost  all,  and  though  you  now  have  not  that 
comfort,  yet  even  without  hearing  from  him,  you  may  be  well 
persuaded,  (which  there  you  could  not  always  have  been,)  that 
he  is  well  and  happy^  and  above  all,  you  may  be  persuaded, 
as  your  dear  brother  was  most  fully  in  his  time  of  severest 
suffering,  that  God  never  smites  his  children  in  vain,  or  out 
of  cruelty.  His  severest  stripes  are  intended  to  heal,  and  he 
has  doubtless  some  wise  and  gracious  purpose  both  for  your 
poor  Martin  and  for  you,  in  thus  taking  him  from  your  side, 
and  leaving  you  in  this  world,  with  Himself  as  your  sole 
guardian. 

A  mighty  and  most  merciful  protector  be  sure  He  is,  and 
one  who  always  then  deals  most  kindly  with  us  when  we  are 
constrained  to  cast  our  cares  on  Him  alone,  and  are  most  sen- 
sible of  our  utter  helplessness.  This  was  your  brother's  com- 
fort|  it  should  be  yours;  and  thus  may  both  he  and  you  have 
occasion  for  unspeakable  joy  hereafter,  if  the  mysterious  dis- 
pensation which  has  deprived  you  of  your  brother^  serves  to 
bring  you  to  a  closer  and  more  constant  communion  with  your 
God.  Meantime,  in  my  wife  and  myself,  you  have  friends, 
even  in  this  remote  land,  who  are  anxious,  as  far  as  we  have 
the  power,  to  supply  your  brother's  place,  and  whose  best  ser- 
vices you  may  command  as  freely  as  his  whom  you  have  lost. 


So  long  as  you  choose  to  remain  with  us,  we  will  be,  to  our 
power,  a  sister  and  a  brother  to  you.  And  it  may  be  worth 
your  consideration,  whether  in  your  present  state  of  health 
and  spirits,  a  journey,  in  my  wife's  society,  will  not  be  better 
for  you  than  a  dreary  voyage  home.  But  this  is  a  point  on 
which  you  must  decide  for  yourself;  I  would  scarcely  venture 
to  advise,  far  less  dictate,  where  I  am  only  anxious  to  serve. 
In  my  dear  Emily  you  will  already  have  had  a  most  affection- 
ate and  sensible  counsellor. 


And  now  farewell!  God  support,  bless  and  comfort  you! 
Such  as  my  prayers  are,  you  have  them  fervently  and  sincere- 
ly offered.  But  you  have  better  and  holier  prayers  than  mine. 
That  the  spirits  in  Paradise  pray  for  those  whom  they  have 
left  behind,  I  cannot  doubt,  since  I  cannot  suppose  tliat  they 


CORRESPONDENCE.  273 

cease  to  love  us  there 5  and  your  dear  brother  is  thus  still  em- 
ployed in  your  service,  and  still  recommending  you  to  a 
Throne  of  Mercy,  to  the  all  sufficient  and  promised  help  of 
that  God  who  is  the  Father  of  the  fatherless,  and  of  that  bless- 
ed Son  who  hath  assured  us  that  '•  they  who  mourn  shall  be 
comforted!" 

One  more  consideration  I  cannot  help  addressing  to  you ^ 
though  it  belongs  to  a  subject  wrapt  up  in  impenetrable  dark- 
ness. A  little  before  your  poor  brother  ceased  to  speak  at  all, 
and  after  his  mind  had  been  for  some  time  wandering,  he 
asked  me  in  a  half  whisper,  "  Shall  I  see  my  sister  to-night?" 
1  could  not  help  answering,  though  in  a  difterent  sense,  per- 
haps, from  that  in  which  he  meant  the  question,  that  I  thought 
it  possible.  I  know  not,  (indeed  who  can  know?)  whether 
the  spirits  of  the  just  are  ever  permitted  to  hover  over  those 
whom  they  have  loved  most  tenderly^  but  if  such  permission 
be  given,  and  who  can  say  it  is  impossible?  then  it  must 
greatly  increase  your  brother's  present  happiness,  and  greatly 
diminish  that  painful  sense  of  separation  which  even  the  souls 
of  the  righteous  may  be  supposed  to  feel,  if  he  sees  you  re- 
signed, patient,  hopeful,  trusting  on  that  same  cross  which 
was  his  refuge  in  the  hour  of  dread,  and  that  good  Provi- 
dence to  whose  care  he  fervently  and  faithfully  committed 
you. 

Believe  me,  dear  Miss  Stowe, 
Your  faithful  and  affectionate  friend  and  servant, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.    R.    HEBER. 


Furreedpoor^  July  28,  1824. 

Alas!  alas!  my  beloved  wife,  what  have  you  not  gone 
through?  Your  letter  of  July  24,  has  just  reached  me  from 
Dacca.  God's  will  be  done  in  all  things!  Your  joining  me  is 
out  of  the  question.  But  I  need  not  tell  you  to  spare  no  ex- 
pense of  sea-voyage,  or  any  other  measure,  which  may  tend 
to  restore  or  preserve  our  dear  children  or  yourself,  so  soon  as 
such  a  measure  may  appear  desirable  for  any  of  you. 

On  these  points  I  leave  you  in 
confidence  to  the  advice  of  Dr.  Abel  and  ^Ir.  Shaw.  For 
the  success  of  their  counsels  I  humbly  hope  in  the  mercy  of 
God,  who  hasin  this  heavy  visitation  preserved  us  from  still 
more  bitter  sorrow. 

I  am  at  this  moment  strangely  tempted  to  come  to  you.  But 
I  feaff  it  mio;htbe  a  compromise  of  my  duty  and  a  distrust  of 


274  CORRESPONDENCE. 

God  I  I  feel  most  grateful  indeed  to  him  for  the  preservation 
of  our  invaluable  treasures.  I  pray  God  to  bless  Lady  Am- 
herst, and  all  who  are  dear  to  her,  and  to  show  kindness  ten- 
fold to  her  children,  for  all  the  kindness  she  has  shown  ours. 
I  am  going  on  immediately  with  a  heavy  heart  indeed,  but 
with  trust  in  His  mercies.     Farewell ! 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  LIEUTENANT-COLONEL  ALEXANDER,  &t.  &C.  &C. 

Mahahad,  Sept.  24,  1824. 
My  dear  Sir, 

Many  thanks  for  your  kind  and  friendly  letter,  as  well  as 
for  the  enclosed  paper.  I  am  sincerely  sorry  that  you  have 
had  so  much  trouble  about  it,  and  that  from  our  friend  the 
Archdeacon  and  myself  not  knowing  exactly  each  other's 
proceedings,  an  ignorance  arising  from  the  illness  which  kept 
him  while  at  Chunar  so  nearly  close  a  prisoner,  we  were  at 
the  same  time  taking  measures  which  had  a  tendency  to  clash 
with  each  other. 

t:  *****  * 

It  is,  however,  of  the  less  consequence,  since  circumstances 
have  come  to  my  knowledge  which  make  me  think  it,  at  the 
present  moment,  inexpedient  to  address  government  on  the 
subject  of  the  Chunar  Church,  and  that  the  object  which  we 
have  all  of  us  in  view,  will  be,  in  some  degree,  obtained  by 
another  method. 


I  cannot  close  my  letter  without  renewing  my  acknowledg- 
ments for  the  very  agreeable  days  which  I  have  spent  in 
your  house  and  in  your  society;  and  assuring  you  that  I  shall 
long  remember  with  deep  interest  some  passages  in  our 
conversation,  and  in  the  letters  which  you  showed  me.  That 
God  may  bless  you  and  yours  in  all  things,  is  the  earnest 
wish  of 

Dear  Colonel, 

Ever  your  sincere  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta* 


TO  MRS.  R.   HEBER. 


Allahabad,  Sept.  29,  1824.  ^ 
Your  letter,  and  enclosed  note,  have  just  reached  me  at  this 
place,  where  we  have  been  thus  long  detained  for  want  of  tents. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  275 

Alas!  my  love,  how  have  you  been  tried!  Comfortable  as 
your  last  note  is,  I  dare  not  yet  hope  that  I  shall  see  my  lovely 
little  Harriet  again  in  this  world,  for  I  know  the  insidious  na- 
ture of  the  disease.  But  I  shall  not  return.  I  have,  I  feel, 
duties  to  fulfil  here,  and,  as  you  truly  say,  before  I  could  ar- 
rive, her  doom  must  be  sealed,  and  your  burst  of  grief,  in  case 
of  the  worst,  must  have  subsided  into  a  calmer  sorrow.  God 
support  and  comfort  you !  I  am  well,  and  I  trust  I  shall  be  en- 
abled to  be  patient  and  resigned. 

*  *  *  »  «  #  « 

There  are  rumours  of  wars  in  this  part  of  the  world,  and 
people  talk  of  armies  and  invasions  from  the  Seiks,  Nepal, 
and  Nagpoor.  I  am  not  very  credulous  of  such  reports,  but 
I  mention  them  to  show  you  that  I  am  aware  of  them,  and  will 
not  run  into  needless  danger.  God  bless  you;  trust  in  Him, 
and  pray  for  His  help  for  your  poor  babies,  and  your  affec- 
tionate husband, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  THE  REV  C.  CHOLMONDELEY  AND  MRS.  CHOLMONDELEY. 

Rahmatgunge,  between  Cawnpore  and  Lucknow,  Oct.  19, 1824. 
My  DEAR  Charles  and  Mary, 

I  write  to  both  in  one  letter,  because  from  the  rambling  na- 
ture of  the  life  which  I  have  been  for  some  time  leading,  and 
still  more  from  the  number  of  business  letters  which  I  am 
obliged  to  attend  to,  I  have  far  less  time  than  I  could  wish  to 
thank  my  friends  at  home  for  the  kind  and  interesting  packets 
which  I  receive  from  them.  Of  those  packets,  I  can  assure 
you  none  has  given  Emily  and  myself  more  pleasure  than 
Charles's  account  of  the  birth  of  your  little  boy. 

******** 
******* 

My  journey  has  hitherto  lain  through  three,  if  not  four,  very 
distinct  tracts  of  country  and  people;  of  the  former  I  endea- 
voured to  give  you  some  idea  in  my  letters  from  Calcutta, 
and  I  do  not  think  that  my  first  impressions  have  been  altered. 
Bengal,  of  which  I  have  now  seen  by  far  the  greatest  part,  is 
all  pretty  nearly  the  same  mass  of  luxuriant  vegetation,  fields 
of  rice,  indigo,  and  sugar,  growing  in  and  out  of  the  water. 

'P  "^  '^  ''P"  ?i*  >!^  ?|* 

Bengal  is  not  included  within  the  bounds  of  Hindostan, 
and  the  term  Bengalee  is  used  to  express  any  thing  which  is 


276  CORRESPONDENCE. 

roguish  and  cowardly;  such  as  they  are,  however,  I  am  far 
from  disliking  them;  .....  and  I  still 
am  inclined  to  think  some  parts  of  the  country  the  most  beau- 
tiful, I  am  sure  it  is  the  most  fertile,  and  to  an  European  the 
most  novel  and  exotic  district  M^hich  I  have  yet  seen  in  India. 
But  if  you  wish  to  obtain  an  idea  of  the  people  or  country  of 
Bengal,  I  know  not  where  I  can  refer  you  better  than  to  the 
large  prints  of  Cook's  third  voyage;  the  expression  of  counte- 
nance is  remarkably  similar  to  that  which  his  draftsman  has 
given  to  the  Otaheitans. 

I  ought  not  to  omit,  that  the  language  of  Bengal,  which  is 
quite  different  from  Hindoostanee,  is  soft  and  liquid.  The 
common  people  are  all  fond  of  singing,  and  some  of  the  airs 
which  I  used  to  hear  from  the  boatmen  and  children  in  the 
villages,  reminded  me  of  the  Scotch  melodies.  I  heard  more 
than  once  "My  boy  Tammy,"  and  "  Here's  a  health  to  those 
far  away,"  during  some  of  those  twilight  walks,  after  my  boat 
was  moored,  which  wanted  only  society  to  make  them  de- 
lightful, when  amid  the  scent  and  glow  of  night-blowing 
flowers,  the  soft  whisper  of  waving  palms,  and  the  warbling 
of  the  nightingale,  watching  the  innumerable  fire-flies  like 
airy  glow-worms,  floating,  rising,  and  sinking,  in  the  gloom 
of  the  bamboo  woods,  and  gazing  on  the  mighty  river  with 
the  unclouded  breadth  of  a  tropical  moon  on  its  surface,  I  felt 
in  my  heart  it  is  good  to  be  here. 

As  we  approach  the  frontiers  of  Bahar,  these  beauties  dis- 
appear, and  are  replaced  by  two  or  three  days'  sail  of  hide- 
ously ugly,  bare,  treeless  level  country,  till  some  blue  hills 
are  seen,  and  a  very  pretty  and  wooded  tract  succeeds  with 
high  hills  little  cultivated,  but  peopled  by  a  singular  and  in- 
teresting race,  the  Welch  of  India. 


I  have  now  taken  measures  for  placing  an  ordained  mis- 
sionary of  the  Church  of  England  among  them,  and  hope  to 
be  the  means,  by  God's  blessing,  of  gradually  extending  a 
chain  of  schools  through  the  whole  district,  some  parts  of 
which  are,  however,  unfortunately  very  unhealthy.  I  had 
myself  not  much  opportunity,  nor  indeed  much  power  of  con- 
versing with  any  of  them;  but  I  have  since  had  the  happiness 
of  hearing  that  one  old  soubahdar  said  that  he  and  his  men 
had  a  desire  to  learn  more  of  my  religion  because  I  was  not 
proud;  there  certainly  seem  fewer  obstacles  to  conversion 
here  than  in  any  part  of  this  country  which  I  have  ever  seen 
or  heard  of. 

On  leaving  the  hills  of  the  Jungleterry  district,  the  flat 


CORRESPONDENCE.  277 

country  of  Bahar  and  Allahabad,  as  far  as  Benares,  shows  a 
vast  extent  of  fertile,  cultivated,  and  populous  soil. 


The  whole  scene,  in  short,  is  changed  from  Polynesia  to  the 
more  western  parts  of  Asia  and  the  east  of  Europe,  and  I 
could  fancy  myself  in  Persia,  Syria,  or  Turkey,  to  which  the 
increasing  number  of  Mussulmans,  though  still  the  minority, 
the  minarets,  and  the  less  dark  complexion  of  the  people, 
much  contribute. 


But  though  this  difference  exists  between  Bengal  and  Ba- 
har, Bahar  itself,  I  shortly  afterwards  found,  was  in  many  re- 
spects different  from  the  Dooab,  and  still  more  from  the  do- 
minion of  the  King  of  Oude,  in  which  I  now  am.  Almost 
immediately  on  leaving  Allahabad,  I  was  struck  with  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  men,  as  tall  and  muscular  as  the  largest  stature 
of  Europeans,  and  with  the  fields  of  wheat,  as  almost  the  only 
cultivation — 

V?£"  VjT  >ff  "-Tt  *  ^ 

I  was  tempted  too  to  exclaim, 

Bellum,  o  terra  hospita,  portas: 
Bello  armantur  equi ;  bellum  hsec  armenta  minantur. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

Since  that  time,  my  life  has  been  that  of  a  Tartar  chief, 
rather  than  an  English  clergyman.  I  rise  by  three  in  the 
morning,  and  am  on  horseback  by  four,  for  the  sake  of  getting 
the  march  over,  and  our  tents  comfortably  pitched  before  the 
heat  of  the  day. 

*  *'       *  ;if  *  *  * 

I  have  then  a  few  hours  to  myself  till  dinner-time,  at  four, 
after  which  we  generally  stroll  about,  read  prayers,  and  send 
every  body  to  bed  at  eight  o'clock,  to  be  ready  for  the  next 
day's  march. 

I  have  as  yet  said  nothing  of  my  professional  labours, 
(though  in  this  respect  I  may  say  I  have  not  been  idle, )  very 
few  Sundays  have  elapsed,  since  I  left  Calcutta,  in  which  I 
have  not  been  able  to  collect  a  Christian  congregation,  and  not 
many  on  which  I  have  not  been  requested  to  administer  the 
sacrament.  I  have  already  confirmed  above  300  persons,  be- 
sides those  I  confirmed  before  I  set  out;  and  I  have  found, 
almost  every  where,  a  great  and  growing  anxiety  on  the  part 
of  the  English  families  which  are  scattered  through  this  vast 
extent  of  country,  both  to  obtain  a  more  regular  and  stated 
performance  of  Divine  Service,  than,  in  the  present  paucity 
of  Chaplains  and  Missionaries,  can  be  afforded  to  them.  I  have 


278  CORRESPONDENCE. 

found,  too,  abundant  reason  to  believe  that  the  standard  of 
morals  and  religion  is  rising  much  higher  among  them  than  it 
used  to  be,  and  that  the  Church  of  England,  her  ceremonies, 
and  clergy,  are  daily  gaining  popularity.  We  are  not  here  an 
old  establishment,  acting  chiefly  on  the  defensive;  we  are  a 
rising  and  popular  sect,  and  among  the  candidates  for  con- 
firmation, many  of  whom  were  grown  up,  and  some  advanced 
in  life,  there  were  many  who  had  been  brought  up  among 
Dissenters  or  the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  who  confessed  that 
a  few  years  back,  they  should  never  have  thought  it  possible 
for  them  to  seek  the  benediction  of  a  Bishop. 

With  regard  to  the  conversion  of  the  natives,  a  beginning  has 
been  made,  and  though  it  is  a  beginning  only,  I  think  it  a  very 
promising  one.  I  do  not  only  mean  that  wherever  our  schools 
are  established  they  gladly  send  their  children  tolhem,  though 
this  alone  would  be  a  subject  of  great  thankfulness  to  God, 
but  of  direct  conversion,  the  number  is  as  great  as  could  well 
be  expected,  considering  that  it  is  only  within  the  last  five 
years  that  any  ordained  English  Missionary  has  been  in  the 
presidency  of  Bengal,  and  that  before  that  time  nothing  was 
even  attempted  by  any  members  of  our  Church,  except  Mr. 
Martyn  and  Mr.  Corrie.  Of  the  candidates  for  confirmation, 
whom  I  mentioned  above,  eighty  were  converted  heathens, 
and  there  were  many  whose  distant  residences  made  it  impos- 
sible for  them  to  attend,  and  many  more  who  were  desirous 
to  obtain  the  rite,  whom  then-  pastors  did  not  think  as  yet 
sufficiently  instructed. 


Great  part  of  our  Liturgy  has  been  translated,  and  well 
translated  too,  into  Hindoostanee,  and  I  thought  it  fortunate 
that  the  Confirmation  Service  as  well  as  the  Communion  is 
found  in  the  present  compendium.  The  language  is  grave 
and  sonorous,  and  as  its  turn  of  expression,  like  that  of  all 
other  eastern  tongues,  is  scriptural,  it  suits  extremely  well 
the  majestic  simplicity  of  our  Prayer-Book.  With  all  this 
employment,  and  all  these  hopes  before  me,  you  will  easily 
believe  I  am  not  idle,  and  cannot  be  unhappy.  Yet  you  will 
not,  I  am  sure,  suspect  me  of  forgetting  all  I  have  left  behindj 
and  there  are  many  little  circumstances  of  almost  daily  oc- 
currence which  give  occasion  to  very  sadly  pleasing  recollec- 
tions. 

*  *  "    *  *  *  * 

On  another  occasion  while  we  were  sitting  at  the  tent  door 
under  the  shade  of  a  noble  peepul-tree,  looking  out  with  some 
anxiety  over  the  wide  sultry  plain  for  the  rear  of  our  caravan, 
Lushington  called  out,  as  the  long  necks  reared  themselve* 


CORRESPONDENCE.  279 

amid  some  brushwood,  "the  camels  are  coming,  oho!'"  I 
believe  he  thought  from  my  silence  that  I  did  not  understand 
the  allusion,  but  in  fact  I  could  not  answer.  He  had  sent  me 
to  Moreton  drawing-room  and  my  dear  Mary's  piano-forte, 
and  I  was,  I  believe,  a  long  time  in  getting  back  to  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Ganges  and  Jumna.  I  have  written  a  very 
long  letter,  but  I  do  not  think  I  shall  have  tired  either  of  you. 
I  meant  to  have  enclosed  one  to  my  mother,  but  I  have  really 
no  time  now,  and  will  write  to  her  at  a  more  advanced  stage 
of  my  journey,  and  when  I  have  something  more  to  say.  I 
knew  you  would  show  her  this  letter;  giving  my  best  love  t(» 
her  and  to  Heber.  I  can  hardly  say  how  often  and  how  much 
I  long  to  see  you  all,  and  how  constantly  you  are  all  in  my 
thoughts  and  prayers. 

Adieu,  dear  Charles  and  Mary, 

Ever  vour  affectionate  brother, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.    R.    HEBER. 

Almorah^  Dec.  1,  1824. 

Your  letter  of  the  10th  November  has  just  reached  me, 
having  been  sent  from  Delhi.  I  trust,  that  long  ere  this,  you 
will  have  been  convinced,  by  my  Journal,  that  though  there 
is  a  certain  degree  of  irritability  in  the  native  mind  in  the 
northern  and  western  provinces  of  Hindostan,  there  is  nothing 
like  revolt,  and  that  I  am  running  no  sort  of  danger.  To  set 
your  mind,  however,  more  at  ease,  I  have  had  a  conversation 

with  ,  who,  though  not  insensible  to  the  fact  that 

there  are  fewer  troops  than  is  advisable  in  these  provinces, 
(if  troops  were  to  be  had,)  does  not  feel  any  apprehension  of 
mischief  occurring  at  present.  Had  any  of  the  great  native 
powers  been  prepared  to  strike,  they  would  have  been  on  horse- 
back before  now,  and  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  rains.  And 
though  there  may  be,  here  and  there,  a  refractory  Zemindar 
on  the  frontier,  no  general  or  formidable  rising  can  be  now. 
looked  for,  unless,  which  God  forbid,  some  great  disaster  shall 
happen  to  our  arms  in  the  east.  Rajpootana  is  said  to  be  again 
quiet,  and  the  transfer  of  Mhow  to  the  Bombay  army,  by 
nearly  doubling  Sir  David  Ochterlony's  disposable  force,  will 
enable  him  probably  to  keep  it  so. 

I  am  not  going  near  the  district  where  Mr.  Shore  wa« 
wounded,  and  tnat  too  is  said  to  be  now  again  tranquil.  Ro- 
hilcund  is  as  quiet  as  it  is  ever  likely  to  be,  and  of  that  dis- 

Vol.  IL— 24 


280  CORRESPONDENCE. 

trict  I  have  only  a  very  few  short  marches  to  traverse,  and 
in  its  quietest  part ;  nor,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  am  I  at  all  an 
unpopular  person  there,  or  likely  to  be  molested,  even  if  some 
partial  mischief  should  occur.  Believe  me,  I  will  be  prudent, 
and  incur  no  needless  danger.  God  bless  and  keep  you  for 
ever! 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.    R.    HEBER. 

BoiipooTy  Rohilcundt  Dec.  10,  1824. 
Dearest  Emily, 

I  send  you  two  good  packets  of  Journal,  by  which  you  will 
see  I  have  had  a  very  interesting  journey  through  Keraaoon. 
My  visit  to  Almorah  has,  I  hope,  not  been  useless,  or  one 
which  I  ought  to  regret,  notwithstanding  the  delay  it  has  oc- 
casioned me.  The  reasons  which  led  me  to  go  there,  (which 
indeed,  as  you  are  aware,  has  always  been  a  part  of  my  plan,) 
you  will  see  detailed  in  my  Journal.  I  have  learned  some  facts 
which,  if  my  life  is  spared,  may  open  a  door  for  sending  mis- 
sionaries and  copies  of  the  Scriptures  into  Tartary,  and  even 
China.  I  have  also  ascertained,  from  actual  experience,  that 
if  our  next  arrival  in  the  north  of  India  falls  at  the  proper  sea- 
son, neither  the  fatigue  nor  the  inconveniences,  though  cer- 
tainly neither  of  them  are  trifling,  need  deter  you  from 
enjoying  the  pleasure  which  I  have  received,  and  which,  had 
you  been  with  me,  would  have  been  greatly  increased. 

For  children  and  women-servants  there  is  no  mode  of  con- 
veyance but  small  hammocks,  slung  on  a  bamboo,  and  each 
carried  by  two  men,  whilst  you  would  have  to  encounter  the 
actual  bodily  fatigue  of  sitting  on  a  pony  up  and  down  steep 
hills  for  three  or  four  hours  together.  Still  these  difficultied 
are  not  much  greater  than  are  encountered  by  travellers  in 
Norway,  and  the  remoter  parts  of  Scotland. 

*  *  *  -:<f  *  * 

I  have  at  last  received  your  letters,  directed  to  Meerut, 
and  that  of  Dr.  Abel.  They  contain  a  very  blended  tissue  of 
evil  and  good,  for  which  I  hardly  know  whether  to  lament  or 
be  grateful. 

*  *  n  ih  *  *  * 

The  letters  you  enclose  from  home  have  also  excited  very 
painful  feelings. 

Nor  am  I  able  to  contemplate  without  great  concern  and  anx- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  281 

iety,  my  poor  mother  at  her  time  of  life,  seeking  out  a  new 
residence.  God  I  hope  will  support  and  strengthen  her  natu- 
ral cheerful  spirits  and  activity  of  mind. 

Reginald  Calcutta. 

In  order  to  show  you  that  I  conceal  nothing  from  you,  I 
add,  that  a  letter  from  Mr.  Halhed,  just  received,  apologizes 
for  not  being. able  to  receive  me  at  his  house,  in  consequence 
of  his  being  obliged  to  march  against  a  small  body  of  armed 
plunderers  near  the  forest.  Such  little  tumults  are,  as  I  have 
told  you,  not  unfrequent  in  Rohilcund;  but  this  is  several 
days'  march  out  of  my  way,  and  even  were  it  not,  my  escort 
is  too  strong  to  encourage  them  to  meddle  with  me.  I  mention 
it  lest  you  should  be  alarmed  by  hearing  any  thing  of  it  from 
other  quarters,  and  because  such  matters  are,  at  Calcutta,  of- 
ten exaggerated. 


TO  MRS.   R.   HEBER. 

Mowahf  fJyepoor  Territory ^ J  Jan.  22,  1825. 
My  DEAREST  Emily, 

I  take  the  opportunity  of  the  return  of  Mr.  Mac  Sweyn's 
suwarrs  to  Agra,  to  send  you  my  Journal,  as  continued  down 
to  this  morning.  My  next  letter  must  be  from  Jyepoor,  where, 
if  it  please  God,  I  hope  to  arrive  on  the  28th.  If  you  sail  to 
Bombay,  that  will  be  the  last  letter  which  you  are  likely  to 
receive  from  me  during  your  stay  in  Bengal. 

I  was  very  sorry  to  hear  of  poor  .  .  .  's  death,  and 
cannot  help  thinking  that  the  confined  air  of  her  quarters  in  the 
fort,  added  to  her  own  regret  for  the  foolish  step  she  had  taken 
in  leaving  you,  hastened  it.  I  now  much  regret  that  I  did  not, 
as  I  once  thought  of  doing,  call  on  her,  in  one  of  my  morning 
rides,  to  bid  her  good-bye  before  I  left  Calcutta;  she  would 
have  taken  it  kindly,  but  I  was  in  a  hurry,  and  not  over  well- 
pleased  with  her  at  the  time. 

I  have  just  received  a  letter  from  Colonel  Raper,  the  Resi- 
dent at  the  Rannee's  court,  who  sent  me  an  additional  escort 
of  cavalry  for  my  passage  through  the  Jyepoor  territory.  I 
had,  previously.,  no  apprehensions,  but  you  will  be  glad  to  hear 
that  I  am  well  guarded.  The  Rannee  is  now  again  on  perfect 
good  terms  with  the  English.  Sir  David  Ochterlony  is  resid- 
ing in  the  palace  with  her,  and  she  has  sent  a  vakeel,  and  a 
guard  of  twenty-five  horsemen,  to  guide  and  guard  me  through 
her  dominions.     She  has,  in  fact,  carried  most  of  her  points 


282  CORRESPONDENCE. 

with  government,  which,  in  these  troublesome  times,  had, 
probably,  no  desire  to  make  new  enemies.  All  is,  at  present, 
quiet  in  these  partsj  and  with  the  exception  of  the  strange  ap- 
pearance of  2500  horse,  no  man  knows  whence,  at  Calpee, 
who  plundered  the  city,  and  even  ventured  to  exchange  some 
shots  with  the  garrison  in  the  fort,  all  has  been  so  for  several 
months  past.  Any  more  serious  mischief  to  which  that  may 
liave  been  intended  as  a  prelude,  will  probably  be  prevented 
by  the  news  of  our  successes  at  Rangoon. 

I  am  quite  well,  and  if  you  were  with  me,  should  be  quite 
happy.  As  it  is,  I  enjoy  very  much  this  sort  of  wild  travel- 
ling, and  the  spectacle  of  a  people  in  a  very  simple  state  of 
society. 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.    R.    HEBER. 

JyepooTi  January  28,  1825. 

*  •         ■-»  'Tf:  *  *  * 

I  have  written  to  you  so  lately,  that  I  should  hardly  have 
sent  you  another  packet;  if  it  were  not  under  the  idea  that 
unless  I  make  haste,  I  shall  hardly  catch  you  before  your  em- 
barkation for  Bombay,  should  that  event,  as  I  continue  to  hope 
it  may,  take  place.  I  hope,  please  God,  to  send  an  account  of 
my  further  progress,  to  meet  you,  should  you  arrive  there  be- 
fore me;  but  should  such  a  letter  not  immediately  make  its 
appearance,  do  not  anticipate  any  evil,  since  in  the  line  of 
load  which  I  am  most  likely  to  follow  in  my  march  from  Nus- 
seerabad,  I  am  not  certain  that  any  dak  exists,  except  a  very 

circuitous  one. 

*     •         *  *  *  *  * 

I  little  thought,  when  fancying  the  possible  trials  which  we 
might  have  to  go  through  in  India,  that  the  sea  was  ever  to 
roll  between  you,  our  babies,  and  me!  But  go  wherever  you 
will,  you  are  in  the  hands  of  a  good  God.  I  know  you  will 
not  tempt  his  goodness  unnecessarily  by  going  in  an  improper 
vessel,  (an  Arab  I  positively  prohibit,)  or  at  an  improper  sea- 
son; and  the  air  of  Calcutta,  to  which  I  have  already  trusted 
you  so  long,  is,  in  my  opinion,  an  element  full  as  dangerous 
as  that  to  w^iich  I  am  now  trusting  you.  And  I  hope  that  the 
Great  Protector  under  whose  care  we  are  now  running  our  se- 
parate course,  will  not  only,  if  he  sees  it  good  for  us,  bring  us 
safely  and  happily  together  in  a  few  months  more,  but  that 
through  His  mercy,  this  may  be  our  last  separation,  of  any 
length,  on  this  side  the  grave! 


CORRESPONDENCE.  283 

An  answer  to  this  letter  may  have  a  chance  of  reaching  me 
either  at  Mhow  or  Ahmedabad.  1  am  not  able  to  determine, 
till  I  reach  Nusseerabad,  which  of  these  two  routes  it  will  be 
best  for  me  to  pursue.  The  first  had  been  always  contem- 
plated by  me,  but  since  the  Bengal  army  has  been  withdrawn, 
and  replaced  by  fresh  troops  from  Poonah,  I  do  not  know  that 
I  am  likely  to  have  much  to  do  there;  and  by  taking  the  more 
western  road  by  Oodeypoor,  Aboo,  Palampoor,  &c.,  I  get,  as 
I  am  told,  a  better  road,  visit  a  new  and  large  station  of  the 
Bombay  army  at  Deesa,  and  see  some  fine  ruins  at  Aboo- 
Above  all,  Mhow  will  lie  very  well  in  the  road  which  I  pro- 
pose to  take  with  you  in  a  future  visitation,  when  the  chance 
IS,  there  will  be  more  to  do  there  than  there  is  now.  However. 
I  hope  to  receive  letters  at  Nusseerabad  which  will  enable  me 
to  determine  what  is  best:  it  will  be  usefulness,  not  curiosity, 
which  will  guide  me  A  letter  to  each  of  these  places,  Mhow 
and  Ahmedabad,  will  be  almost  sure  to  reach  me,  and  would  be 

a  great  comfort  to  me. 

******  * 

Do  you  know,  dearest,  that  I  sometimes  think  we  should 
be  more  useful,  and  happier,  if  Cawnpoor  or  Benares,  not 
Calcutta,  were  our  home.  My  visitations  would  be  made 
with  far  more  convenience,  the  expense  of  house-rent  would 
be  less  to  the  Company,  and  our  own  expenses  of  living 
would  be  reduced  very  considerably.  The  air,  even  of  Cawn- 
poor, is,  I  apprehend,  better  than  that  of  Bengal,  and  that  of 
Benares  decidedly  so.  The  greater  part  of  my  business  with 
government  may  be  done  as  well  by  letters  as  personal  inter- 
views; and,  if  the  Archdeacon  of  Calcutta  were  resident 
there,  it  seems  more  natural  that  the  Bishop  of  India  should 
remain  in  the  centre  of  his  diocese.  The  only  objection  is  the 
great  number  of  Christians  in  Calcutta,  and  the  consequent 
probability  that  my  preaching  is  more  useful  there  than  it 
would  be  any  where  else.  We  may  talk  these  points  over 
when  we  meet. 

God  bless  you  and  your  dear  children ! 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.    R.    HEBER. 

Bheelwarra,  Meywar^  February  18,  1825. 
Dearest  Love, 

I  have  just,  thank  God,  received  your  letter  of  February 
1st,  and  am  truly  rejoiced  at  the  favourable  account  which  it 
gives  of  both  our  treasures. 

24* 


^84  cohrespondence. 


You  say  nothing  of  yourself,  and  I  cannot  help  being  uneasy 
lest  your  anxiety  should  do  you  harm.  God  forgive  me!  I 
often  regret  that  I  left  you/  Yet  I  hojie  and  trust  that  He 
will  take  care  of  you,  and  I  know  that  it  is  He  only  on  whose 
care  all  must  depend,  wliether  I  am  present  or  absent.  It  is 
this  only,  and  the  feeling  that  I  have  the  opportunity  of  doing 
Him  service  where  I  am  going,  which  keeps  me  yet  in  sus- 
pense about  turning  back  to  you.  He  knows  how  gladly,  (if 
I  thought  myself  justified  in  doing  it,  now  that  all  preparations 
have  been  made  in  Bombay  to  receive  me,)  I  should  set  my 
face  eastward.  I  thought  yesterday  morning,  when  the  drum 
beat  for  our  march,  of  poor  Tom  Tough  in  Dibdin's  ballad: — 

*'  The  worst  time  of  all  was  when  the  little  ones  were  sickly. 

And  if  they'd  live  or  die  the  doctor  did  not  know. 

The  word  was  given  to  weig-h  so  sudden  and  so  quickly, 

I  thought  my  heart  would  break  as  I  sung  out,  Yo  heave  oh!" 

Yet  if  good  news  continues,  I  shall,  like  poor  Tom  Tough^ 
persevere. 

Sometimes  I  would  fain  flatter  myself  that  the  children  may 
still  get  so  well  before  the  end  of  this  month,  as  to  justify 
your  sailing  for  Bombay.  My  own  opinion  is,  I  confess,  that 
change  of  air,  and  sea  air  above  all,  is  what  they  want,  and 
that  you  will  risk  less  by  being  removed  from  your  present 
excellent  advice,  than  by  remaining  in  that  cruel  climate 
during  the  rainy  season. 

Had  your  own  health  been  such  as  to  enable  or  justify  you 
in  coming  with  me  in  the  first  instance,  and  our  children  had 
accompanied  you,  I  am  often  tempted  to  think  they  would 
both  have  remained  well.  But  God  only  knows  what  is  best 
for  us;  and  while  we  act  for  the  best  and  trust  in  Him,  there 
can  be  no  ground  for  self-reproach.  We  both  then  did,  un- 
doubtedly, what  we  thought  our  duty,  and  it  is  possible  that 
my  present  notions  of  the  climate  of  Bengal  are  too  unfa- 
vourable. Surely,  however,  we  have  no  reason  to  think  well 
of  it! 

Adieu,  dearest,  God  bless  and  protect  you ! — Direct  to  me 
at  Mhow,  if  I  do  not  go  there  your  letters  will  be  forwarded. 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  285 

TO  THE  RIGHT    HON.    CHARLES  W.   WILLIAMS  WYNN. 

Fertaubghur,  Malwa/i,  March  1,  1825. 

My  dear  Wynn, 

*  *  »  *  »  ^- 


In  Hindostan,  which  name  is  confined  by  the  natives  to 
Upper  India  only,  and  more  particularly  to  that  part  of  it 
which  was  within  the  usual  limits  of  the  Mogul  Empire,  and 
is  now  subject  to  the  Company,  there  are  few  natural  curiosi- 
ties, and  the  distinguished  works  of  architecture,  are  chiefly 
confined  to  the  great  cities  and  their  vicinity.  They  are,  how- 
ever, far  superior  to  all  which  I  had  expected,  and  very  dif- 
ferent from  the  idea  generally  formed  of  them  in  Europe.  I  had 
heard  much  of  the  airy  and  gaudy  style  of  Oriental  architecture, 
a  notion,  I  apprehend,  taken  from  that  of  China  only,  since  so- 
lidity, solemnity,  and  a  richness  of  ornament,  so  v/ell  managed 
as  not  to  interfere  with  solemnity,  are  the  characteristics  of 
all  the  ancient  buildings  which  I  have  met  with  in  this  coun- 
try. I  recollect  no  corresponding  parts  of  Windsor  at  all 
equal  to  the  entrance  of  the  castle  of  Delhi  and  its  marble 
hall  of  audience,  and  even  Delhi  falls  very  short  of  Agra  in 
situation,  in  majesty  of  outline,  in  size,  and  the  costliness  and 

beauty  of  its  apartments. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

They  are  not  the  Mussulmans  only  who  have  surprised  me. 
At  Benares,  indeed,  the  Hindoo  works  are  all  small,  but  in 
the  wild  countries  which  I  am  now  traversing,  and  where  the 
Hindoos  have  been  pretty  much  left  to  themselves,  there  are 
two  palaces,  Umeer  and  Jyepoor,  surpassing  all  which  I  have 
seen  of  the  Kremlin,  or  heard  of  the  Alhambra;  a  third  Joud- 
poor,  which  I  have  not  seen,  is  said  to  be  equal  to  either,  and 
the  Jain  Temples  of  Aboo,  on  the  verge  of  the  Western  de- 
sert, are  said  to  rank  above  them  all. 

Of  the  people,  so  far  as  their  natural  character  is  concern- 
ed, I  have  been  led  to  form,  on  the  whole,  a  very  favourable 
opinion.  They  have,  unhappily,  many  of  the  vices  arising 
from  slavery,  from  an  unsettled  state  of  society,  and  immoral 
and  erroneous  systems  of  religion.  But  they  are  men  of  high 
and  gallant  courage;  courteous,  intelligent,  and  most  eager 
after  knowledge  and  improvement,  with  a  remarkable  aptitude 
for  the  abstract  sciences,  geometry,  astronomy,  &c.  and  for 
the  imitative  arts,  painting  and  sculpture.  They  are  sober, 
industrious,  dutiful  to  their  parents,  aiid  affectionate  to  their 


286  CORRESPONDENCE. 

children,  of  tempers  almost  uniformly  gentle  and  patient,  and 
more  easily  affected  by  kindness  and  attention  to  their  wants 
and  feelings  than  almost  any  men  whom  I  have  met  with. 
Their  faults  seem  to  arise  from  the  hateful  superstitions  to 
which  they  are  subject,  and  the  unfavourable  state  of  society 
in  which  they  are  placed.  But  if  it  should  please  God  to 
make  any  considerable  portion  of  them  Christians,  they  would, 
I  can  well  believe,  put  the  best  of  European  Christians  to 
shame.  They  are  the  sepoys  and  irregular  horse  of  whom  I 
chiefly  speak,  for  of  these  it  is  I  have  happened  to  see  most, 
having  taken  all  opportunities  of  conversing  with  my  escort, 
and  having,  for  several  weeks  together,  had  scarcely  any  body 
else  to  converse  with.  I  find,  however,  that  my  opinion  of 
both  these  classes  of  men  is  that  of  all  the  officers  in  the  Com- 
pany's service  to  whom  I  have  named  the  subject;  and,  so  far 
as  my  experience  reaches,  which  certainly  is  not  great,  I  have 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  classes  whom  I  have  mentioned, 
are  not  a  fair  average  specimen  of  the  other  inhabitants  of  the 
country. 

The  English  in  the  upper  provinces  are,  of  course,  thinly 
scattered,  in  proportion  either  to  the  multitude  of  the  heathen, 
or  the  extent  of  territory.  They  are,  however,  more  numer- 
ous than  I  expected,  though  there  are  very  few,  indeed,  who 
are  not  in  the  civil  or  military  employ  of  government.  The 
indigo  planters  are  chiefly  confined  to  Bengal,  and  I  have  no 
wish  that  their  number  should  increase  in  India.  They  are 
always  quarrelling  with,  and  oppressing  tlie  natives,  and  have 
done  much  in  those  districts  where  they  abound,  to  sink  the 
English  character  in  native  eyes.  Indeed  the  general  conduct 
of  the  lower  order  of  Europeans  in  India  is  such  as  to  show 

the  absurdity  of  the  system  of  free  colonization  which  W 

is  mad  about. 

To  return,  however,  to  the  English  society  in  the  upper 
provinces.  It  is  of  course  composed  of  nearly  the  same  ele- 
ments with  that  of  Calcutta,  the  officers  who  take  their  turns 
of  duty  here,  being  most  of  them  at  different  times  called  by 
business  or  promotion  to  the  Presidency.  Each  of  the  civil 
stations  forms  a  little  society  within  itself,  composed  of  the 
Judge,  the  Collector,  the  Registrar,  the  Station  Surgeon,  and 
Postmaster.  The  military  stations  are  strictly  camps,  com- 
posed of  huts  for  the  men,  with  thatched  cottages  for  the  offi- 
cers, ranged  in  regular  lines,  with  a  hospital,  and  sometimes, 
though  too  seldom,  a  Church  and  chaplain. 

Neither  the  civil  nor  military  officers  have  much  intercourse 
with  the  natives,  though  between  officers  and  magistrates  of  a 
certain  rank,  and  the  natives  of  distinction,  there  is  generally 


CORRESPONDENCE.  287 

an  occasional  interchange  of  visits  and  civilities.  Society, 
both  civil  and  military,  is  less  formal  up  the  country  than  at 
Calcutta,  and  this  plainness  and  cordiality  of  manners  in- 
creases as  we  approach  the  northern  and  western  frontier, 
where  every  thing  still  remains,  as  they  themselves  call  it, 
**  Camp  Fashion." 

■J[r  '-T^  i|r  ■*  sfr  J(f 

I  dined  not  long  since  with  a  Brigadier-General,  where  the 
feast  consisted  of  boiled  beef,  roast  mutton,  boiled  mutton, 
hashed  mutton,  mutton  chops,  and  mutton  broth.  A  man, 
however,  would  be  very  fastidious  who  would  quarrel  with 
such  fare  as  this,  accompanied  as  it  was  with  perfect  good 
manners,  and  extremely  amusing  and  interesting  conversation. 
The  civilians  live  in  more  style,  and  appear  in  public  with  a 
train  of  attendants  on  horseback  and  foot. 

Hi  *  *  *  #  * 

Yet  even  with  this,  there  is  plainness  and  freedom  from  re- 
straint, which  they  appear  to  lose  when  they  come  in  sight  of 
Government  House,  and  which  makes  me  apprehend  that  a 
life  in  Hindostan  proper,  is  far  happier,  as  well  as  more 
wholesome  for  body  and  mind,  than  on  the  banks  of  the  Hoogh- 
ly.  Of  course,  among  these  different  functionaries  there  is 
an  abundant  difference  of  character  and  talent;  but  the  im- 
pression made  on  my  mind  is  favourable,  on  the  whole,  to 
their  diligence  and  good  intentions;  nor  can  there  be  more 
useful  or  amiable  characters  than  some  of  the  elder  servants 
of  the  Company,  who,  eschewing  Calcutta  altogether,  have 
devoted  themselves  for  many  years  to  the  advantage  of  the 
land  in  which  their  lot  is  thrown,  and  are  looked  up  to, 
throughout  considerable  districts,  with  a  degree  of  respectful 
attachment  which  it  is  not  easy  to  believe  counterfeited.  Mr. 
Brooke,  of  Benares,  is  precisely  a  character  of  this  descrip- 
tion. Mr.  Hawkins,  of  Bareilly,  and  Mr.  Traill,  the  Judge 
of  Almorah,  are  others,  and  Sir  David  Ochterlony  would  have 
been  an  example  still  more  conspicuous,  were  it  not  for  the 
injurious  confidence  which  he  is  said  to  place  in  his  servants. 
But  though  I  fully  believe  the  influence  of  Britain  to  have 
been  honestly  employed  for  the  benefit  of  India,  and  to  have 
really  produced  great  good  to  the  country  and  its  inhabitants, 
I  have  not  been  led  to  believe  that  our  government  is  gene- 
rally popular,  or  advancing  towards  popularity.  It  is,  perhaps, 
impossible  that  we  should  be  so  in  any  great  degree;  yet  I 
really  think  there  are  some  causes  of  discontent,  which  it  is 
in  our  power,  and  which  it  is  our  duty  to  remove  or  diminish. 
One  of  these  is  the  distance  and  haughtiness  with  which  a  very 
large  proportion  of  the  civil  and  military  servants  of  the  Com- 
pany treat  the  upper  and  middling  class  of  natives.     Against 


288  CORRESPONDENCE. 

their  mixing  much  with  us  in  society  there  are  certainly  many 
hindrances,  though  even  their   objection  to  eating  with  us 
might,  so  far  as  the  Mussulmans  are  concerned,  I  think,  be 
conquered  by  any  popular  man  in  the  upper  provinces,  who 
made  the  attempt  in  a  right  way.     But  there  are  some  of  our 
amusements,  such  as  private  theatrical  entertainments,  and 
the  sports  of  the  field,  in  which  they  would  be  delighted  to 
share,  and  invitations  to  which  would  be  regarded  by  them  as 
extremely  flattering,  if  they  were  not,  perhaps  with  some  rea- 
son, voted  bores,  and  treated  accordingly.   The  French,  under 
Perron  and  Des  Boignes,  who  in  more  serious  matters  left  a 
very  bad  name  behind  them,  had,  in  this  particular,  a  great 
advantage  over  us,  and  the  easy  and  friendly  intercourse  in 
which  they  lived  with  natives  of  rank,  is  still  often  regretted 
in  Agra  and  the  Dooab.     This  is  not  all,  however.     The  fool- 
ish pride  of  the  English  absolutely  leads  them  to  set  at  nought 
the  injunctions  of  their  own  government.     The  Tusseeldars, 
for  instance,  or  principal  active  officers  of  revenue,  ought,  by 
an  order  of  council,  to  have  chairs  always  offered  them  in  the 
presence  of  their  European  superiors,  and  the  same,  by  the 
standing  orders  of  the  army,  should  be  done  to  the  Soubah- 
dars.     Yet  there  are  hardly  six  collectors  in  India  who  observe 
the  former  etiquette;  and  the  latter,  which  was  fifteen  years 
never  omitted  in  the  army,  is  now  completely  in  disuse.     At 
the  same  time,  the  regulations  of  which  I  speak  are  known  to 
every  Tusseeldar  and  Soubahdar  in  India,  and  they  feel  them- 
selves aggrieved  every  time  these  civilities  are  neglected;  men 
of  old  families  are  kept  out  of  their  former  situation  by  this 
and  other  similar  slights,  and  all  the  natives  endeavour  to  in- 
demnify themselves  for  these  omissions  on  our  part,  by  many 
little  pieces  of  rudeness,  of  which  I  have  heard  Europeans 

complain,  as  daily  increasing  among  them. 

*  *  *  *  ■*  * 

In  almost  every  part  of  my  journey,  I  have  found  the  minds 
of  the  Europeans  more  favourably  disposed  to  religion  than  I 
expected,  and  anxious,  in  a  degree  proportioned  to  their  pau- 
city, to  avail  themselves  of  every  opportunity  which  offered, 
for  attending  the  rites  of  the  Church.  The  native  Christians 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  persuasion  amount,  I  am  told,  to  some 
thousands,  and  do  not  bear  a  good  character.  Those  who  are 
members  of  the  Church  of  England  in  this  Presidency,  have 
chiefly  been  converted  by  Archdeacon  Corrie,  and  by  his  dis- 
ciples, Bowley,  Abdul  Musseeh,  and  Anund  Musseeh,  and 
by  Mr.  Fisher  of  Meerut.  Their  number  does  not  exceed,  at 
most,  five  hundred  adults,  who  are  chiefly  at  the  stations  of 
Benares,  Chunar,  Buxar,  Meerut,  and  Agra,  a  large  propor- 
tion being  the  wives  of  European  soldiers.     Even  the  number 


CORRESPONDENCE.  289 

IS  greater  than  might  have  been  expected,  when  we  consider 
how  few  years  have  passed  since  Mr.  Corrie  first  came  into  the 
country.  He  was  cotemporary  with  Martyn,  and  before  their 
time  nothing  was  attempted  here  by  the  Church  of  England. 
I  have  made  many  inquiries,  but  cannot  find  that  any  jealou- 
sy on  this  head  exists  at  present  among  the  natives.  Corrie, 
indeed,  himself,  from  his  pleasing  manners,  his  candid  method 
of  conversing  with  them  on  religious  topics,  his  perfect  know- 
ledge of  Hindoostanee,  and  his  acquaintance  with  the  topics 
most  discussed  among  their  own  learned  men,  is  a  great  fa- 
vourite among  the  pundits  of  Benares,  and  the  syuds  and  other 
learned  Mussulmans  at  Agra,  who  seem  to  like  conversing 
with  him  even  where  they  differ  most  in  their  opinion.  This 
good  man  with  his  wife  and  children,  went  with  me  as  far  as 
Lucknow,  and  he  has  since  gone  to  pass  the  hot  weather  in 
the  Dhoon,  his  health  being,  1  grieve  to  say,  in  a  very  preca- 
rious condition.  At  the  same  time  I  lost  the  society  of  a  very 
agreeable  fellow-traveller,  the  son  of  Mr.  Lushington  of  the 

Treasury My  journey  from  thence  to 

Delhi  was,  generally  speaking,  made  alone;  but  I  had  then  a 
medical  man  assigned  to  me  by  General  Reynell.  The  want 
of  such  a  person  I  had  felt  severely,  both  in  the  case  of  poor 
Stowe,  and  afterwards  during  my  own  illness,  and  when  I  had 

four  men  in  my  camp  ill  of  jungle  fever. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

Mr.  Adam,  in  spite  of  all  which  has  been  said  and  written, 
is,  and  uniformly  has  been  one  of  the  most  popular  men  in 
India.  He  is,  perhaps,  the  only  public  man  in  whom,  in  any 
great  degree,  both  Europeans  and  natives  have  confidence; 
and  his  absence  from  Calcutta  during  the  early  part  of  the 
war,  and  his  present  determination,  which  has  just  reached 
these  provinces,  to  return  to  Europe,  have  been  regarded  bj 
all,  without  exception,  whom  1  have  heard  speak  on  the  sub- 
ject, as  the  heaviest  calamities  w^hich  could  have  befallen  Bri- 
tish India.  I  was  Mr.  Adam's  guest  for  a  few  days  at  AI- 
moroh,  and  greatly  pleased  both  with  his  manners  and  con- 
versation; but  he  was  then  weak  both  in  health  and  spirits, 
and  my  opinion  of  him  has  been  formed  rather  from  what  I 

heard,  than  what  I  have  myself  known  of  him. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

The  character  which  Malcolm  has  leftbehind  him  in  Western 
and  Central  India  is  really  extraordinary.-  As  political  agent, 
he  had  many  difficulties  to  contend  with,  of  which  the  jealousy 
entertained  of  him,  as  a  Madras  officer,  by  the  Bengal  army, 
is  not  the  least.  But  during  his  stay  he  seems  to  have  con- 
ciliated all  classes  of  Europeans  in  a  manner  which  hardly 


290  CORRESPONDENCE. 

any  other  man  could  have  done,  while  the  native  cliiefs  whom 
I  nave  seen,  asked  after  him  with  an  anxiety  and  regard  which 
I  could  not  think  counterfeited,  inasmuch  as  they  did  not  pre- 
tend any  thing  equal  to  it  when  speaking  of  other  great  men 

I  have,  I  fear,  wearied  you,  and  have  been  infinitely  longer 
than  I  myself  anticipated;  but  I  know  how  deep  an  interest 
you  take  in  all  which  relates  to  this  country,  and,  except  these 
long  despatches,  and  my  daily  prayers  for  you  and  yours,  I 
have  now  no  opportunity  of  showing  how  sincerely  I  am. 
Dear  Wynn, 

Your  obliged  and  affectionate  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS.   R.   ttEBER. 

Doodeah,  Chizeratf  March  loth,  1825. 
Your  letter  of  the  9th  February  has  just  been  forwarded  to 
me  from  Baroda.  I  need  not  say  how  great  a  comfort  it  was 
to  me  to  hear  from  you  again  in  the  midst  of  these  wilds,  and 
when  for  a  week  to  come,  I  hardly  flattered  myself  with  that 
expectation.  It  is  of  four  days  later  date  than  your  last,  and 
thank  God  the  accounts  continue  favourable. 

'/TS  nS  'f^  'T^  <F  flt 

I  am  and  have  been  in  perfect  health,  and  have  performed  my 
journey  through  all  which  was  considered  the  adventu- 
rous part  of  the  road,  very  peaceably  and  quietly.  Nothing 
can  be  wilder  or  more  savage  than  these  jungles,  but  they 
contain  many  spots  of  great  romantic  beauty,  though  the 
mountains  are  certainly  mere  playthings  after  Himalaya.  The 
various  tribes  of  the  countries  through  which  I  have  passed 
interested  me  extremely;  their  language,  the  circumstances 
of  tlieir  habitation,  dress,  and  armour,  their  pastoral  and  ag- 
ricultural way  of  life,  their  women  grinding  at  the  mill,  their 
cakes  baked  on  the  coals,  their  corn  trodden  out  by  oxen, 
their  maidens  passing  to  the  well,  their  travellers  lodging  in 
the  streets,  their  tents,  their  camels,  their  shields,  spears, 
and  coats  of  mail;  their  Mussulmans  with  a  religion  closely 
copied  from  that  of  Moses,  their  Hindoo  tribes  worshipping 
the  same  abominations  with  the  same  rites  as  the  ancient  Ca- 
naanites;  their  false  prophets  swarming  in  every  city,  and 
foretelling  good  or  evil  as  it  suits  the  political  views  of  their 
employersjtheirjudges  sitting  in  the  gate,  and  their  wild  Bheels 
and  Khoolies  dwelling  like  the  ancient  Amorites  in  holes  and 
clefts  of  the  rocks,  and  coming  down  with  sword  and  bow  to 


CORRESPONDENCE.  29l 

watch  the  motions,  or  attack  the  baggage  of  the  traveller, 
transported  me  back  three  thousand  years,  and  I  felt  myself 
a  contemporary  of  Joshua  or  Samuel! 

I  have  a  large  packet  of  journal  for  you,  which  I  shall  keep 
till  I  hear  from  you  again,  lest  you  should,  after  all,  have 
sailed  from  Calcutta. 

God  bless  you,  dearest! 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


My  Dear  Wilmot, 


Barreahj  fChizeratfJ  March,  1824. 


I  have  now,  since  the  middle  of  last  June,  pretty  nearly 
seen  the  eastern,  northern,  and  western  extremities  of  British. 
India,  having  been  to  Dacca  and  Almorah,  and  having  now 
arrived  within  a  few  days'  march  of  Ahmedabad,  visiting  by 
the  way  several  of  the  most  important,  independent,  or  tribu- 
tary principalities. 

Of  the  way  of  performing  this  long  journey,  I  was  myself 
very  imperfectly  informed  before  I  began  it,  and  even  then  it 
was  long  before  I  could  believe  how  vast  and  cumbersome  an 
apparatus  of  attendance  and  supplies  of  every  kind  was  neces- 
sary to  travel  in  any  degree  of  comfort  or  security.  On  the 
river  indeed,  so  long  as  that  lasted,  one's  progress  is  easy  and 
pleasant,  (bating  a  little  heat  and  a  few  storms,)  carried  on  by 
a  strong  south-eastern  breeze,  in  a  very  roomy  and  comforta- 
ble boat,  against  the  stream  of  a  majestic  body  of  water;  but 
it  is  after  leaving  the  Ganges  for  the  land-journey  that,  if  not 
"  the  tug,"  yet  no  small  part  of  the  apparatus,  proventus  et 
commeatus,  of  "  war"  commences. 

It  has  been  my  wish  on  many  accounts  to  travel  without 
unnecessary  display;  my  tents,  equipments,  and  number  of 
servants,  are  all  on  the  smallest  scale  which  comfort  or  pro-, 
priety  would  admit  of;  they  all  fall  short  of  what  are  usually- 
taken  by  the  Collectors  of  districts,  and  in  comparison  with 
what  the  Commander  in  Chief  had  the  year  before  last,  I  have 
found  people  disposed  to  cry  out  at  them  as  quite  insufficient. 
Nor  have  I  asked  for  a  single  soldier  or  trooper  beyond  what 
the  commanding  officers  of  districts  have  themselves  offered  as 
necessary  and  suitable;  yet  for  myself  and  Dr.  Smith,  the 
united  numbers  amount  to  three  elephants,  above  twenty 
camels,  five  horses,  besides  poneys  for  our  principal  servants, 
twenty-six  servants,  twenty-six  bearers  of  burthens,  fifteen 
clashees  to  pitch  and  remove  tents,  elephant  and  camel  drivers, 

Vol.  II.— 25 


292  CORRESPONDENCE. 

I  believe  thirteen,  and  since  we  have  left  the  Company's  ter- 
ritories and  entered  Rajpootana,  a  guard  of  eighteen  irregular 
horse,  and  forty -five  sepoys  on  foot.  Nor  is  this  all;  for  there 
is  a  number  of  petty  tradesmen  and  other  poor  people  whose 
road  is  tlie  same  as  ours,  and  who  have  asked  permission  to 
encamp  near  us,  and  travel  under  our  protection;  so  that 
yesterday,  when  I  found  it  expedient,  on  account  of  the  scar- 
city which  prevails  in  tliese  provinces,  to  order  an  allowance  of 
flour,  by  way  of  Sunday  dinner,  to  every  person  in  the  camp, 
the  number  of  heads  returned  was  165.  With  all  these  for- 
midable numbers,  you  must  not,  however,  suppose  that  any 
exorbitant  luxury  reigns  in  my  tent;  our  fare  is,  in  fact,  as 
homely  as  any  two  farmers  in  England  sit  down  to;  and  if  it 
be  sometimes  exuberant,  the  fault  must  be  laid  on  a  country 
where  we  must  take  a  whole  sheep  or  kid,  if  we  would  have 
animal  food  at  all,  and  where  neither  sheep  nor  kid  will, 
when  killed,  remain  eatable  more  than  a  day  or  two.  The  truth 
is,  tliat  where  people  carry  every  thing  with  them,  bed,  tent, 
furniture,  wine,  beer  and  crockery,  for  six  months  together, 
no  small  quantity  of  beasts  of  burden  may  well  be  supposed 
necessary;  and  in  countries  such  as  those  which  I  have  now 
been  traversing,  where  every  man  is  armed,  where  every  third 
or  fourth  man  a  few  years  since,  was  a  thief  by  profession,  and 
where,  in  spite  of  English  influence  and  supremacy,  the  fo- 
rests, mountains,  and  multitudes  of  petty  sovereignties,  af- 
ford all  possible  scope  for  the  practical  application  of  "SVords- 
vvortli's  "  good  old  rule,"  you  may  believe  me  that  it  is  nei- 
ther pomp  nor  cowardice  which  has  thus  fenced  your  friend 
in  with  spears,  shields  and  bayonets.  After  all,  though  this 
way  of  life  has  much  that  is  monotonous  and  wearisome, 
though  it  grievously  dissipates  time  and  thought,  and  though 
it  is  almost  incompatible  with  the  pursuits  in  which  I  have 
been  accustomed  to  find  most  pleasure,  it  is  by  no  means  the 
worst  part  of  an  Indian  existence.  It  is  a  great  point  in  this 
climate  to  be  actually  compelled  to  rise,  day  after  day,  before 
the  dawn,  and  to  ride  from  twelve  to  eighteen  miles  before 
breakfast.  It  is  a  still  greater  to  have  been  saved  a  residence 
in  Calcutta  during  the  sultry  months,  and  to  have  actually 
seen  and  felt  frost,  ice  and  snow,  on  the  summits  of  Kemaoon, 
and  under  the  shadow,  of  the  Himalaya.  And  though  the 
greater  part  of  the  Company's  own  provinces,  except  Ke- 
maoon, are  by  no  means  abundant  in  objects  of  natural  beauty 
or  curiosity,  the  prospect  offering  little  else  than  an  uniform 
plain  of  slovenly  cultivation,  yet  in  the  character  and  manners 
of  the  people  there  is  much  which  may  be  studied  with  inte- 
rest and  amusement,  and  in  the  yet  remaining  specimen  of 
Oriental  pomp  at  Lucknow,  in  the  decayed,  but  most  striking 


CORRESPONDENCE.  293 

aiid  romantic  magnificence  of  Delhi,  and  in  the  Taje-Mahal 
of  Agra,  (doubtless  one  of  the  most  beautiful  buildings  in  the 
world,)  there  is  almost  enough,  even  of  themselves,  to  make 
it  worth  a  man's  while  to  cross  the  Atlantic  and  Indian  oceans. 

Since  then  I  have  been  in  countries  of  a  wilder  character, 
comparatively  seldom  trodden  by  Europeans,  exempt  during  the 
greater  part  of  their  history  from  the  Mussulman  yoke,  and  re- 
taining, accordingly,  a  great  deal  of  the  simplicityof  early  Hin- 
doo manners,  without  much  of  that  solemn  and  pompous  uni- 
formity which  the  conquests  of  the  house  of  Timur  seem  to  have 
impressed  on  all  classes  of  their  subjects.  Yet  here  there  is 
much  which  is  interesting  and  curious.  The  people,  who  are 
admirably  described,  (though  I  think  in  too  favourable  colours,) 
by  Malcolm  in  his  Central  India,  are  certainly  a  lively,  ani- 
mated and  warlike  race  of  men,  though  chiefly  from  their 
wretched  government,  and  partly  from  their  still  more  wretch- 
ed religion,  there  is  hardly  any  vice  either  of  slaves  or  rob-, 
bers  to  which  they  do  not  seem  addicted.  Yet  such  a  state  of 
society  is,  at  least,  curious,  and  resembles  more  the  picture  of 
Abyssinia,  as  given  by  Bruce,  than  that  of  any  other  country 
which  I  have  seen  or  read  of;  while  here  too,  there  are  many 
wild  and  woody  scenes,  which,  though  they  want  the  glorious 
glaciers  and  peaks  of  the  Himalaya,  do  not  fall  short  in  natural 
beauty  of  some  of  the  loveliest  glens  which  we  went  through, 
ten  years  ago,  in  North  Wales;  and  some  very  remarkable 
ruins,  which,  though  greatly  inferior  as  works  of  art  to  the 
Mussulman  remains  in  Hindostan  proper,  are  yet  more  curious 
than  them,  as  being  more  ditFerent  from  any  thing  which  an 
European  is  accustomed  to  see  or  read  of. 

One  fact,  indeed,  during  this  journey  has  been  impressed 
on  my  mind  very  forcibly,  that  the  character  and  situation  of 
the  natives  of  these  great  countries  are  exceedingly  little 
known,  and  in  many  instances  grossly  misrepresented,  not 
only  by  the  English  public  in  general,  but  by  a  great  propor- 
tion of  those  also  who,  though  they  have  been  in  India,  have 
taken  their  views  of  its  population,  manners  and  productions 
from  Calcutta,  or  at  most  from  Bengal.  I  had  always  heard,  and 
fully  believed  till  I  came  to  India,  that  it  was  a  grievous  crime, 
in  the  opinion  of  the  brahmins,  to  eat  the  flesh  or  shed  the  blood 
of  any  living  creature  whatever.  I  have  now  myself  seen  brah- 
mins of  the  highest  caste  cutoff  the  heads  of  goats  as  a  sacrifice 
to  Doorga;  and  I  know  from  the  testimony  of  brahmins,  as  well  as 
from  other  sources,  that  not  onlv  hecatombs  of  animals  are  of- 
ten  off*ered  in  this  manner,  as  a  most  meritorious  act,  (a  Raja, 
about  twenty-five  years  back,  offered,  sixty  thousand  in  one 
fortnight,)  but  that  any  person,  brahmins  not  excepted,  eats 


294  CORRESPONDENCE. 

readily  of  the  flesh  of  whatever  has  been  offered  up  to  one  of 
their  divinities,  while  among  almost  all  the  other  castes,  mut- 
ton, pork,  venison,  fish,  any  thing  but  beef  and  fowls,  are  con- 
sumed as  readily  as  in  Europe.  Again,  I  had  heard  all  my  life 
of  the  gentle  and  timid  Hindoos,  patient  under  injuries,  ser- 
vile to  their  superiors,  &c.  Now,  this  is,  doubtless,  to  a  cer- 
tain extent,  true  of  the  Bengalese,  (who,  by  tlie  way,  are  never 
reckoned  among  the  nations  of  Hindostan,  by  those  who  speak 
the  language  of  that  country,)  and  there  are  a  great  many 
people  in  Calcutta  who  maintain  that  all  the  natives  of  India 
are  alike.  But  even  in  Bengal,  gentle  as  the  exterior  manners 
of  the  people  are,  there  are  large  districts  close  to  Calcutta, 
where  the  work  of  carding,  burning,  ravishing,  murder,  and 
robbery  goes  on  as  systematically,  and  in  nearly  the  same 
manner,  as  in  the  worst  part  of  Ireland,  and  on  entering  Hin- 
dostan, properly  so  called,  which,  in  the  estimation  of  the 
natives,  reaches  from  the  Rajmahal  hills  to  Agra,  and  from  the 
mountains  of  Kemaoon  to  Bundelcund,  I  was  struck  and  sur- 
prised to  find  a  people  equal  in  stature  and  strength  to  the 
average  of  European  nations,  despising  rice  and  rice-eaters^ 
feeding  on  wheat  and  barley-bread,  exhibiting  in  their  appear- 
ance, conversation,  and  habits  of  life,  a  grave,  proud  and  de- 
cidedly a  martial  character,  accustomed  universally  to  the  use 
of  arms  and  athletic  exercises  from  their  cradles,  and  prefer- 
ring, very  greatly,  military  service  to  any  other  means  of  liveli- 
hood. This  part  of  their  character,  but  in  a  ruder  and  wilder 
form,  and  debased  by  much  alloy  of  treachery  and  violence, 
is  conspicuous  in  the  smaller  and  less  good-looking  inhabitants 
of  Rajpootana  and  Malvvah;  while  the  mountains  and  woods, 
wherever  they  occur,  show  specimens  of  a  race  entirely  differ- 
ent from  all  these,  and  in  a  state  of  society  scarcely  elevated 
above  the  savages  of  New  Holland  or  New  Zealand;  and  the 
inhabitants,  I  am  assured,  of  the  Deckan,  and  of  the  Presi- 
dencies of  Madras  and  Bombay,  are  as  difterent  from  those 
which  I  have  seen,  and  from  each  other,  as  the  French  and 
Portuguese  from  the  Greeks,  Germans,  or  Poles,;  so  idle  is  it 
to  ascribe  uniformity  of  character  to  the  inhabitants  of  a  coun- 
try so  extensive,  and  subdivided  by  so  many  almost  impassable 
tracts  of  mountain  and  jungle;  and  so  little  do  the  majority  of 
those  whom  I  have  seen,  deserve  the  gentle  and  imbecile  cha- 
racter often  assigned  to  them.  Another  instance  of  this  want, 
of  information,  which  at  the  time  of  my  arrival  excited  much 
talk  in  Bengal,  was  the  assertion  made  in  Parliament,  I  forget 
by  whom,  that  "  there  was  little  or  no  sugar  cultivated  in  In- 
dia, and  that  the  sugar  mostly  used  there  came  from  Sumatra 
and  Java."     Now  this  even  the  cockneys  of  Calcutta  must 


CORRESPONDENCE.  295 

have  known  to  be  wrong,  and  I  can  answer  for  myself,  that  m 
the  whole  range  of  Calcutta,  from  Dacca  to  Delhi,  and  thence 
through  the  greater  part  of  Rajpootana  and  Malwah,  the  raising 
of  sugar  is  as  usual  a  part  of  husbandry,  as  turnips  and  potatoes 
in  England;  and  that  they  prepare  it  in  every  form,  except 
the  loaf,  which  is  usually  met  with  in  Europe.  This,  however, 
is  not  the  most  material  point  in  which  the  state  of  arts  and 
society  in  India  has  been  underrated.  I  met  not  long  since 
with  a  speech  by  a  leading  member  of  the  Scotch  General  As- 
sembly, declaring  his  *'  conviction  that  the  truths  of  Christi- 
anity could  not  be  received  by  men  in  so  rude  a  state  as  the 
East  Indians;  and  that  it  was  necessary  to  give  them  first  a  re- 
lish for  the  habits  and  comforts  of  civilized  life  before  they 
could  embrace  the  truths  of  the  Gospel."  The  same  slang, 
(for  it  is  nothing  more,)  I  have  seen  repeated  in  divers  pamph- 
lets, and  even  heard  it  in  conversations  at  Calcutta.  Yet, 
though  it  is  certainly  true  that  the  lower  classes  of  Indians 
are  miserably  poor,  and  that  there  are  many  extensive  districts 
where,  both  among  low  and  high,  the  laws  are  very  little 
obeyed,  and  there  is  a  great  deal  of  robbery,  oppression,  and 
even  ferocity,  I  know  no  part  of  the  population  except  the 
mountain  tribes  already  mentioned,  who  can,  with  any  pro- 
priety of  language,  be  called  uncivilized. 

Of  the  unpropitious  circumstances  which  I  have  mentioned, 
the  former  arises  from  a  population  continually  pressing  on 
the  utmost  limits  of  subsistence,  and  which  is  thus  kept  up, 
not  by  any  dislike  or  indifference  to  a  better  diet,  or  more 
ample  clothing,  or  more  numei  ous  ornaments  than  now  usually 
fall  to  the  peasant's  share,  (for,  on  the  contrary,  if  he  has  the 
means  he  is  fonder  of  external  show  and  a  respectable  appear- 
ance, than  those  of  his  rank  in  many  nations  of  Europe,)  but 
by  the  foolish  superslition,  which  Christianity  only  is  likely 
to  remove,  which  makes  a  parent  regard  it  as  unpropitious  to 
allow  his  son  to  remain  unmarried,  and  which  couples  together 
children  of  twelve  or  fourteen  3^ears  of  age.  The  second  has 
its  origin  in  the  long-continued  misfortunes  and  intestine  wars 
of  India,  which  are  as  yet  too  recent,  (even  when  their  causes 
have  ceased  to  exist,)  for  the  agitation  which  they  occasioned 
to  have  entirely  sunk  into  a  calm.  But  to  say  that  the  Hin- 
doos or  Mussulmans  are  deficient  in  any  essential  feature  of 
a  civilized  people,  is  an  assertion  which  I  can  scarcely  sup- 
pose to  be  made  by  any  who  have  lived  with  them.  Their 
manners  are,  at  least,  as  pleasing  and  courteous  as  those  in 
the  corresponding  stations  of  life  among  ourselves:  their  houses 
are  larger,  and,  according  to  their  wants  and  climate,  to  the 
full  as  convenient  as  ours;  their  architecture  is  at  least  as 
elegant,  and  though  the  worthv  Scotch  divines  may  doubtless 

25* 


296  CORRESPONDENCE. 

wish  their  labourers  to  be  chid  in  *'  hodden  gray,"  and  their  gen- 
try and  merchants  to  M'ear  powder  and  mottled  stockings,  like 

worthy  Mr.  and  the  other  elders  of  his  kirk-session, 

I  really  do  not  think  that  they  would  gain  either  in  cleanli- 
ness, elegance,  or  comfort,  by  exchanging  a  white  cotton  robe 
for  the  completest  suits  of  dittos.  Nor  is  it  true  that  in  the 
mechanic  arts  they  are  inferior  to  the  general  run  of  European 
nations.  Where  they  fall  short  of  us,  (which  is  chiefly  in 
agricultural  implements  and  the  mechanics  of  common  life,) 
they  are  not,  so  far  as  I  have  understood  of  Italy  and  the  south 
of  France,  surpassed  in  any  great  degree  by  the  people  of 
those  countries.  Their  goldsmiths  and  weavers  produce  as 
beautiful  fiibrics  as  our  own,  and  it  is  so  far  from  true  that  they 
are  obstinately  wedded  to  their  old  patterns,  that  they  show 
an  anxiety  to  imitate  our  models,  and  do  imitate  them  very 
successfully.  The  ships  built  by  native  artists  at  Bombay  are 
notoriously  as  good  as  any  which  sail  from  London  or  Liver- 
pool. The  carriages  and  gigs  which  they  supply  at  Calcutta 
are  as  handsome,  though  not  as  durable,  as  tliose  of  Long 
Acre.  In  the  little  town  of  Monghyr,  300  miles  from  Cal- 
cutta, I  had  pistols,  double-barrelled  guns,  and  different  pieces 
of  cabinet-work  brought  down  to  my  boat  for  sale,  which  in 
outward  form,  (for  I  know  no  further,)  nobody  but  perhaps 

Mr.  could  detect  to  be  of  Hindoo  origin  j  and  at  Delhi, 

in  the  shop  of  a  wealthy  native  jeweller,  I  found  broaches, 
ear-rings,  snuff-boxes,  &c.  of  the  latest  models,  (so  far  as  I  am 
a  judge,)  and  ornamented  with  French  devices  and  mottos. 

The  fact  is,  that  there  is  a  degree  of  intercourse  maintained 
between  this  country  and  Europe,  and  a  degree  of  information, 
existing  among  the  people  as  to  what  passes  there,  which, 
considering  how  many  of  them  neither  speak  nor  read  English, 
implies  other  channels  of  communication  besides  those  which 
we  supply,  and  respecting  which  I  have  been  able  as  yet  to 
obtain  very  little  information.  Among  the  presents  sent  last 
year  to  the  Supreme  Government,  by  the  little  state  of  Ladak, 
in  Chinese  Tartary,  some  large  sheets  of  gilt  leather,  stamped 
with  the  Russian  eagle,  were  the  most  conspicuous.  A  tra- 
veller, who  calls  himself  a  Transylvanian,  but  who  is  shrewdly 
suspected  of  being  a  Russian  spy,  was,  when  I  w^as  in  Ke- 
maoon,  arrested  by  the  commandant  of  our  fortresses  among 
the  Himalaya  mountains,  and  after  all  our  pains  to  exclude 
foreigners  from  the  service  of  the  native  princes,  two  cheva- 
liers of  the  legion  of  honour  were  found,  about  twelve  months 
ago,  and  are  still  employed  in  casting  cannon  and  drilling  sol- 
diers for  the  Seik  Raja,  Runjeet  Singh.  This  you  w411  say 
is  no  more  than  we  should  be  prepared  to  expect,  but' you 
probably  would  not  suppose,  (what  I  believe  is  little,  if  at 


CORRESPONDENCE.  297 

all,  known  in  Russia  itself,)  that  there  is  an  ancient  and  still 
frequented  place  of  Hindoo  pilgrimage,  not  many  miles  from 
Moscow,  or  that  the  secretary  of  the  Calcutta  Bible  Society 
received,  ten  months  ago,  an  application,  (by  whom  translated 
I  do  not  know,  but  in  very  tolerable  English,)  from  some 
priests  on  the  shore  of  the  Caspian  sea,  requesting  a  grant  of 
Arminian  Bibles.  After  this  you  will  be  the  less  surprised  to 
learn  that  the  leading  events  in  the  late  wars  in  Europe,  (par- 
ticularly Buonaparte's  victories,)  were  often  known,  or  at 
least  rumoured,  among  the  native  merchants  in  Calcutta  be- 
fore government  received  any  accounts  from  England,  or  that 
the  suicide  of  an  English  minister,  (with  the  mistake,  indeed, 
of  its  being  Lord  Liverpool  instead  of  the  Marquis  of  Lon- 
donderry,) had  become  a  topic  of  conversation  in  the  ''  burrah 
bazar,"  (the  native  exchange,)  for  a  fortnight  before  the  ar- 
rival of  any  intelligence  by  the  usual  channels. 

With  subjects  thus  inquisitive,  and  with  opportunities  of 
information,  it  is  apparent  how  little  sense  there  is  in  the  doc- 
trine that  we  must  keep  the  natives  of  Hindostan  in  ignorance, 
if  we  would  continue  to  govern  them.  The  fact  is,  that  they 
know  enough  already  to  do  us  a  great  deal  of  mischief  if  they 
should  find  it  their  interest  to  make  the  trial.  They  are  in  a 
fair  way,  by  degrees,  to  acquire  still  more  knowledge  for 
themselves;  and  the  question  is,  whether  it  is  not  the  part  of 
wisdom,  as  well  as  duty,  to  superintend  and  promote  their 
education  while  it  is  yet  in  our  power,  and  to  supply  them  with 
such  knowledge  as  will  be  at  once  most  harmless  to  ourselves 
and  most  useful  to  them. 

In  this  work,  the  most  important  part  is  to  give  them  a  bet- 
ter religion.  Knowing  how  strongly  I  feel  on  this  subject, 
you  will  not  be  surprised  at  my  placing  it  foremost.  But  even 
if  Christianity  were  out  of  the  question,  and  if  when  I  had 
wheeled  away  the  rubbish  of  the  old  pagodas,  I  had  nothing; 
better  than  simple  Deism  to  erect  in  their  stead,  I  should  still 
feel  some  of  the  anxiety  which  now  urges  me.  It  is  necessary 
to  see  idolatry,  to  be  fully  sensible  of  its  mischievous  effects 
on  the  human  mind.  But  of  all  idolatries  which  I  have  ever 
read  or  heard  of,  the  religion  of  the  Hindoos,  in  which  1  had 
taken  some  pains  to  inform  myself,  really  appears  to  me  the 
worst,  both  in  the  degrading  notions  which  it  gives  of  the 
Deity;  in  the  endless  round  of  its  burdensome  ceremonies, 
which  occupy  the  time  and  distract  the  thoughts,  without  either 
instructing  or  interesting  its  votaries;  in  the  filthy  acts  of  un- 
cleanness  and  cruelty,  not  only  permitted,  but  enjoined,  and 
inseparably  interwoven  with  those  ceremonies;  in  the  system 
of  castes,  a  system  which  tends,  more  than  any  thing  else  the 
Devil  has  yet  invented,  to  destroy  the  feelings  of  general  be- 


29S  CORRESPONDENCE. 

iievolence,  and  to  make  nine-tenths  of  mankind  the  hopeless 
slaves  of  the  remainder^  and  in  the  total  absence  of  any  po- 
pular system  of  morals,  or  any  single  lesson  which  the  people 
at  large  ever  hear,  to  live  virtuously  and  do  good  to  each 
other.  I  do  not  say,  indeed,  that  there  are  not  some  scatter- 
ed lessons  of  this  kind  to  be  found  in  their  ancient  books;  but 
those  books  are  neither  accessible  to  the  people  at  large,  nor 
are  these  last  permitted  to  read  them;  and  in  general  all  the 
sins  that  a  sudra  is  taught  to  fear  are,  killing  a  cow,  oftend- 
ing  a  brahmin,  or  neglecting  one  of  the  many  frivolous  rites 
by  which  their  deities  are  supposed  to  be  conciliated.  Accord- 
ingly, though  the  general  sobriety  of  the  Hindoos,  (a  virtue 
which  they  possess  in  common  with  most  inhabitants  of  warm 
climates,)  affords  a  very  great  facility  to  the  maintenance  of 
public  order  and  decorum,  1  really  never  have  met  with  a  race 
of  men  whose  standard  of  morality  is  so  low,  who  feel  so  lit- 
tle apparent  shame  on  being  detected  in  a  falsehood,  or  so 
little  interest  in  the  sufferings  of  a  neighbour,  not  being  of 
their  own  caste  or  family;  whose  ordinary  and  familiar  con- 
versation is  so  licentious;  or,  in  the  wilder  and  more  lawless 
districts,  who  shed  blood  with  so  little  repugnance.  The  good 
<|ualities  which  there  are  among  them,  (and  thank  God  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  good  among  them  still,)  are,  in  no  instance 
that  I  am  aware  of,  connected  with,  or  arising  out  of,  their 
religion,  since  it  is  in  no  instance  to  good  deeds  or  virtuous 
habits  in  life  that  the  future  rewards  in  vvhich  they  believe  are 
promised.  Their  bravery,  their  fidelity  to  their  employers, 
their  temperance,  and,  (wherever  they  are  found,)  their  hu- 
manity, and  gentleness  of  disposition,  appear  to  arise  exclu- 
sively from  a  natural  happy  temperament,  from  an  honoura- 
ble pride  in  their  own  renown,  and  the  renown  of  their  ances- 
tors; and  from  the  goodness  of  God,  who  seems  unwilling  that 
his  image  should  be  entirely  defaced  even  in  the  midst  of  the 
grossest  error.  The  Mussulmans  have  a  far  better  creed, 
and  though  they  seldom  either  like  the  English  or  are  liked 
by  them,  I  am  inclined  to  think  are,  on  the  whole,  a  better 
people.  Yet  even  with  them,  the  forms  of  their  worship  have 
a  natural  tendency  to  make  men  hypocrites,  and  the  over- 
weening contempt  with  vvhich  they  are  inspired  for  all  the 
world  beside,  the  degradation  of  their  women  by  the  system 
of  polygamy,  and  the  detestable  crimes,  which,  owing  to  this 
degradation,  are  almost  universal,  are  such  as,  even  if  I  had 
no  ulterior  hope,  would  make  me  anxious  to  attract  them  to  a 
better  or  more  harmless  system. 

In  this  work,  thank  God,  in  those  parts  of  India  which  I 
have  visited,  a  beginning  has  been  made,  and  a  degree  of  suc- 
cess obtained,  at  least  commensurate  to  the  few  years  during 


CORRESPONDENCE.  299 

uhich  our  Missionaries  have  laboured^  and  it  is  still  going  on 
in  tlie  best  and  safest  way,  as  the  work  of  private  persons 
alone,  and  although  not  forbidden,  in  no  degree  encouraged 
by  government.  In  the  mean  time,  and  as  an  useful  auxiliary  to 
the  Missionaries,  the  establishment  of  elementary  schools  for 
the  lower  classes  and  for  females,  is  going  on  to  a  very  great 
extent,  and  might  be  carried  to  any  conceivable  extent  to 
which  our  pecuniary  means  would  carry  us.  Nor  is  there 
any  measure  from  which  I  anticipate  more  speedy  benefit  than 
the  elevation  of  the  rising  generation  of  females  to  their  natu- 
ral rank  in  society,  and  giving  them,  (which  is  all  that,  in 
any  of  our  schools,  we  as  yet  venture  to  give,)  the  lessons  of 
general  morality  extracted  from  the  Gospel,  without  any  di- 
rect religious  instruction.  These  schools,  such  of  them  at 
least  as  I  have  any  concern  with,  are  carried  on  vi^ithout  any 
help  from  government.  Government  has,  however,  been  very 
liberal  in  its  grants,  both  to  a  Society  for  National  Education, 
and  in  the  institution  and  support  of  two  Colleges  of  Hindoo 
students  of  riper  age,  the  one  at  Benares,  the  other  at  Calcut- 
ta. But  I  do  not  think  any  of  these  Institutions,  in  the  v/ay 
after  which  they  are  at  present  conducted,  likely  to  do  much 
good.  In  the  elementary  schools  supported  by  the  former, 
through  a  very  causeless  and  ridiculous  fear  of  giving  offence 
to  the  natives,  they  have  forbidden  the  use  of  the  Scriptures 
or  any  extracts  from  them,  though  the  moral  lessons  of  the 
Gospel  are  read  by  all  Hindoos  who  can  get  hold  of  them, 
■without  scruple,  and  with  much  attention;  and  though  their 
exclusion  is  tantamount  to  excluding  all  moral  instruction 
from  their  schools,  the  Hindoo  sacred  writings  having  nothing 
of  the  kind,  and,  if  they  had,  being  shut  up  from  the  majo- 
rity of  the  people  by  the  double  fence  of  a  dead  language,  and 
an  actual  prohibition  to  read  them,  as  too  holy  for  common 
eyes  or  ears.  The  defects  of  the  latter  will  appear,  when  I 
liave  told  you  that  the  actual  state  of  Hindoo  and  Mussulman 
literature,  mutatis  mutandis,  very  nearly  resembles  what  the 
literature  of  Europe  was  before  the  time  of  Galileo,  Coperni- 
cus, and  Bacon.  The  Mussulmans  take  their  logic  from  Aris- 
totle, filtered  through  many  successive  translations  and  com- 
mentaries; and  their  metaphysical  system  is  professedly  derived 
from  Plato,  ("Filatoun.")  The  Hindoos  have  systems  not  very 
dissimilar  from  these,  though,  I  am  told,  of  greater  length, 
and  more  intricacy;  but  the  studies  jn  which  they  spend  most 
of  their  time,  are  the  actjuisition  of  the  Sanscrit,  and  the  end- 
less refinements  of  its  grammar,  prosody,  and  poetry.  Both 
have  the  same  Natural  Philosophy,  which  is  also  that  of  Aris- 
totle in  Zoology  and  Botany,  and  Ptolemy  in  Astronomy,  for 
which  the  Hindoos  have  forsaken  their  more  ancient  notions 


300  CORRESPONDENCE. 

of  the  seven  seas,  the  six  earths,  and  the  flat  base  of  Padalon, 
supported  on  the  back  of  a  tortoise.  By  the  science  which 
they  now  possess,  they  are  some  of  them  able  to  foretell  an 
eclipse,  or  compose  an  almanac 5  and  many  of  them  derive 
some  little  pecuniary  advantage  from  pretensions  to  judicial 
astrology.  In  medicine  and  chemistry  they  are  just  sufficiently 
advanced  to  talk  of  substances  being  moist,  dry,  hot,  &c.  in 
the  third  or  fourth  degree;  to  dissuade  from  letting  blood,  or 
physicing,  on  a  Tuesday,  or  under  a  particular  aspect  of  the 
heavens,  and  to  be  eager  in  their  pursuit  of  the  philosopher's 
stone,  and  the  elixir  of  immortality. 

The  task  of  enlightening  the  studious  youth  of  such  a  na- 
tion would  seem  to  be  a  tolerably  straight-forward  one.  But 
though,  for  the  college  in  Calcutta,  (not  Bishop's  College,  re- 
member, but  the  Vidalaya,  or  Hindoo  College,)  an  expensive 
set  of  instruments  has  been  sent  out,  and  it  seems  intended 
that  the  natural  sciences  should  be  studied  there,  the  mana- 
gers of  the  present  institution  take  care  that  their  boys  should 
have  as  little  time  as  possible  for  such  pursuits,  by  requiring 
from  them  all,  without  exception,  a  laborious  study  of  San- 
scrit, and  all  the  useless,  and  worse  than  useless,  literature 
of  their  ancestors.  A  good  deal  of  this  has  been  charged, 
(and  in  some  little  degree  charged  with  justice,)  against 
the  exclusive  attention  paid  to  Greek  and  logic,  till  lately,  in 
Oxford.  But  in  Oxford  we  have  never  been  guilty,  (since  a 
better  system  was  known  in  the  world  at  large,)  of  teaching 
the  physics  of  Aristotle,  however  we  may  have  paid  an  exces- 
sive attention  to  his  metaphysics  and  dialectics. 

In  Benares,  however,  I  found  in  the  institution  supported 
by  government,  a  professor  lecturing  on  astronomy,  after  the 
system  of  Ptolemy  and  Albunazar,  while  one  of  the  most  for- 
ward boys  was  at  the  pains  of  casting  my  horoscope;  and  the 
majority  of  the  school  were  toiling  at  Sanscrit  grammar.  And 
yet  the  day  before,  in  the  same  holy  city,  I  had  visited  another 
college,  founded  lately  by  a  wealthy  Hindoo  banker,  and  en- 
trusted by  him  to  the  management  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society,  in  which,  besides  a  grammatical  knowledge  of  the 
Hindoostanee  language,  as  well  as  Persian  and  Arabic,  the 
senior  boys  could  pass  a  good  examination  in  English  gram- 
mar, in  Hume's  History  of  England,  Joyce's  Scientific  Dia- 
logues, the  use  of  the  globes,  and  the  principal  facts  and 
moral  precepts  of  the  Gospel,  most  of  them  writing  beautifully 
in  the  Persian,  and  very  tolerably  in  the  English  character, 
and  excelling  most  boys  I  have  met  with  in  the  accuracy  and 
readiness  of  Sieir  arithmetic.  The  English  officer  who  is  now  in 
charge  of  the  Benares  Vidalaya,  is  a  clever  and  candiil  young 
man,  and  under  him  I  look  forward  to  much  improvement.    . 


CCKRHESPONDENCE.  301 

.  .  Ram  Mohun  Roj,  a  learned  native,  who  has  sometimes 
been  called,  though  I  fear  without  reason,  a  Christian,  remon- 
strated against  this  system  last  year,  in  a  paper  which  he  sent 
me  to  be  put  into  Lord  Amherst's  hands,  and  which,  for  its 
good  English,  good  sense,  and  forcible  arguments,  is  a  real 
curiosity,  as  coming  from  an  Asiatic.  I  have  not  since  been 
in  Calcutta,  and  know  not  whether  any  improvement  has  oc- 
curred in  consequence.  But  from  the  unbounded  attachment 
to  Sanscrit  literature  displayed  by  some  of  those  who  chiefly 
manage  those  affairs,  I  have  no  great  expectation  of  the  kind. 
Of  the  value  of  the  acquirements  which  so  much  is  sacrificed 
to  retain,  I  can  only  judge  from  translations,  and  they  cer- 
tainly do  not  seem  to  me  worth  picking  out  of  the  rubbish 
under  which  they  were  sinking.  Some  of  the  poetry  of  the 
Mahabarah  I  am  told  is  good,  and  1  think  a  good  deal  of  the 
Ramayuna  pretty.  But  no  work  has  yet  been  produced  which 
even  pretends  to  be  authentic  history.  No  useful  discoveries 
in  science  are,  I  believe,  so  much  as  expected,  and  I  have  no 
great  sympathy  with  those  students  who  value  a  worthless 
tract,  merely  because  it  calls  itself  old,  or  a  language  which 
teaches  nothing,  for  the  sake  of  its  copiousness  and  intricacy. 
If  I  were  to  run  wild  after  Oriental  learning,  I  should  cer- 
tainly follow  that  of  the  Mussulmans,  whose  histories  seem 
really  very  much  like  those  of  Europe,  and  whose  poetry,  so 
far  as  I  am  yet  able  to  judge,  has  hardly  had  justice  done  to 
it  in  the  ultra  flowery  translations  which  have  appeared  in  the 
West.  But  after  all,  I  will  own  my  main  quarrel  with  the 
institutions  which  I  have  noticed,  is  their  needless  and  syste- 
matic exclusion  of  the  Gospels,  since  they  not  only  do  less 
good  than  they  might  have  done,  but  are  actually,  in  my 
opinion,  productive  of  serious  harm,  by  awakening  the  dor- 
mant jealousy  of  the  native  against  the  schools  which  pursue 
a  dift'erent  system. 

During  my  long  journey  through  the  northern  half  of  this 
vast  country,  I  have  paid  all  the  attention  I  could  spare  to  a 
topic  on  which  Schlegel  bitterly  reproves  the  English  for  their 
inattention  to,  the  architectural  antiquities  of  Hindostan.  I 
had  myself  heard  much  of  these  before  I  set  out,  and  had  met 
with  many  persons  both  in  Europe  and  at  Calcutta,  (where 
nothing  of  the  kind  exists,)  who  spoke  of  the  present  natives 
of  India  as  a  degenerate  race,  whose  inability  to  rear  such 
splendid  piles  was  a  proof  that  these  last  belong  to  a  remote 
antiquity.  I  have  seen,  however,  enough  to  convince  me, 
both  that  the  Indian  masons  and  architecl;s  of  the  present  day 
only  want  patrons  sufficiently  wealthy,  on  sufficiently  zealous, 
to  do  all  which  their  ancestors  have  clone:  and  that  there  are 
very   few   structures  here  which    can,  on  any  satisfactory 


302  CORRESPONDENCE. 

grounds,  be  referred  to  a  date  so  earlj  as  the  greater  part  of 
our  own  cathedrals.  Often  in  upper  Hindostan,  and  still 
more  frequently  in  Rajpootana  and  Malwah,  I  have  met  with 
new  and  unfinished  shrines,  cisterns,  and  ghats,  as  beautifully 
carved,  and  as  well  proportioned  as  the  best  of  those  of  an 
earlier  date.  And  though  there  are  many  buildings  and  ruins 
which  exhibit  a  most  venerable  appearance,  there  are  several 
causes  in  this  country  which  produce  this  appearance  prema- 
turely. In  the  first  instance,  we  ourselves  have  a  complex 
impression  made  on  us  by  the  sight  of  edifices  so  distant  from 
our  own  country,  and  so  unlike  whatever  we  have  seen  there. 
We  multiply,  as  it  were,  the  geographical  and  moral  distance 
into  the  chronological,  and  can  hardly  persuade  ourselves 
that  we  are  contemporaries  with  an  object  so  far  removed  in 
every  other  respect.  Besides  this,  hov/ever,  the  finest  ma- 
sonry in  these  climates  is  sorely  tried  by  the  alternate  influ- 
ence of  a  pulverizing  sun,  and  a  continued  three  months' 
rain.  The  wild  fig-tree,  (peepul  or  ficus  religiosa,)  which  no 
Hindoo  can  root  out,  or  even  lop  without  a  deadly  sin,  soon 
sows  its  seeds,  and  fixes  its  roots  in  the  joints  of  the  arching, 
and  being  of  rapid  growth  at  the  same  time,  in  a  very  few 
years  increases  its  picturesque  and  antique  appearance,  and 
secures  its  eventual  destruction;  lastly,  no  man  in  this  coun- 
try repairs  or  completes  what  his  father  has  begun,  preferring 
to  begin  something  else,  by  which  his  own  name  may  be  le- 
membered.  Accordingly,  in  Dacca,  are  many  fine  ruins, 
which  at  first  impressed  me  with  a  great  idea  of  their  age. 
Yet  Dacca  is  a  modern  city,  founded,  or  at  least  raised  from 
insignificance  under  Slmh  Jehanguire  in  A.  D.  1G08:  and  the 
tradition  of  the  place  is  that  these  fine  buildings  were  erected 
by  European  architects  in  the  service  of  the  then  governor. 
At  Benares,  the  principal  temple  has  an  appearance  so  vene- 
rable, that  one  might  suppose  it  to  have  stood  unaltered  ever 
since  the  Greta  Yug,  and  that  Menu  and  Capilahad  perform- 
ed austerities  within  its  precincts.  Yet  it  is  historically  cer- 
tain that  all  the  Hindoo  temples  of  consequence  in  Benares 
M'ere  pulled  down  by  Aurungzebe,  the  contemporary  of 
Charles  the  Second,  and  that  the  present  structure  mustliave 
been  raised  since  that  time.  The  observatories  of  Benares, 
Delhi,  and  Jyepoor,  I  heard  spoken  of  in  the  carelessness  of 
conversation,  not  only  as  extremely  curious  in  themselves, 
(which  they  certainly  are,)  but  as  monuments  of  the  ancient 
science  of  the  Hindoos.  All  three,  however,  are  known  to 
be  the  work  of  the  Raja  Jye  Singh,  who  died  in  1742. 

A  remote  antiquity  is,  with  better  reason,  claimed  for  some 
idols  of  black  stone,  and  elegant  columns  of  the  same  mate- 
rial, which  have  been  collected  in  different  parts  of  the  dis- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  30S 

tricts  of  Rhotas,  Bulnem,  &c.  These  belong  to  the  religion 
of  a  sect,  (the  Buddhists,)  of  which  no  remains  are  now  found 
in  those  provinces.  But  I  have  myself  seen  images  exactly 
similar  in  the  newly-erected  temples  of  the  Jains,  a  sect  of 
the  Buddhists,  still  wealthy  and  numerous  in  Guzerat,  Raj- 
pootana,  and  Malvvah;  and  in  a  country  where  there  is  lite- 
rally no  history,  it  is  impossible  to  say  how  long  since  or  how 
lately  they  may  have  lost  their  ground  in  the  more  eastern 
parts  of  Gundwana.  In  the  wilds  which  I  have  lately  been 
traversing,  at  Chittore  Ghur  more  particularly,  there  are  some 
very  beautiful  buildings,  of  which  the  date  was  obviously  as- 
signed at  random,  and  which  might  be  500  or  1000,  or  150 
years  old,  for  all  their  present  guardians  know  about  the  mat- 
ter. But  it  must  always  be  borne  in  mind,  that  1000  years 
are  as  easily  said  as  10,  and  that  in  the  mouth  of  a  Cicerone 
they  are  sometimes  thought  to  sound  rather  better  The 
oldest  things  which  I  have  seen,  of  which  the  date  could  be 
at  all  ascertained,  are  some  detached  blocks  of  marble,  with 
inscriptions,  but  of  no  appalling  remoteness j  and  two  re- 
markable pillars  of  black  mixed  metal,  in  a  Patan  fort,  near 
Delhi,  ancl  at  Cuttab-minar,  in  the  same  neighbourhood;  both 
covered  with  inscriptions  which  nobody  can  now  read,  but 
both  mentioned  in  Mussulman  history  as  in  their  present  si- 
tuation, at  the  time  when  the  *' believers"  conquered  Delhi, 
about  A.  D.  1000.  But  what  is  this  to  the  date  of  the  Par- 
thenon.^ or  how  little  can  these  trifling  relics  bear  comparison 
with  the  works  of  Greece  and  Egypt.^  Ellora  and  Elephanta 
I  have  not  yet  seen;  1  can  believe  all  which  is  said  of  their 
size  and  magnificence;  but  they  are  without  date  or  inscrip- 
tion; they  are,  I  understand,  not  mentioned,  even  inciden- 
tally, in  any  Sanscrit  manuscript.  Their  images,  &c.  are  the 
same  with  those  now  worshipped  in  every  part  of  India,  and 
there  have  been  many  Rajas  and  wealthy  individuals  in  every 
age  of  Indian  history,  who  have  possessed  the  means  of  carv- 
ing a  huge  stone  quarry  into  a  cathedral.  To  our  cathedrals, 
after  all,  they  are,  I  understand,  very  inferior  in  size.  All 
which  can  be  known  is,  that  Elephanta  must  probably  have 
been  begun,  (whether  it  was  ever  finished  seems  very  doubt- 
ful,) before  the  arrival  of  the  Portuguese  at  Bombay;  and  that 
Ellora  may  reasonably  be  concluded  to  have  been  erected  in 
a  time  of  peace,  under  a  Hindoo  prince,  and  therefore  either 
before  the  first  Afghan  conquest,  or,  subsequently,  during  the 
recovered  independence  of  that  part  of  Candeish  and  the 
Deckan.  This  is  no  great  matter  certainly,  and  it  may  be 
older;  but  all  I  say  is,  that  we  have  no  jeason  to  conclude  it 
is  so,  and  the  impression  on  my  mind  decidedly  accords  with 
Mill,  that  the  Hindoos,  after  all,  though  they  have  doubt- 
VoL.  II.--26 


304  CORRESPONDENCE. 

lessly  existed  from  very  great  antiquity,  as  an  industrious 
and  civilized  people,  had  made  no  great  progress  in  the  arts, 
and  took  all  their  notions  of  magnificence  from  the  models 
furnished  by  their  Mahommedan  conquerors. 

We  are  now  engaged,  as  you  are  aware,  in  a  very  expen- 
sive and  tedious  war  in  countries  whither  the  Mahommedans 
were  never  able  to  penetrate.  This  tediousness,  together  with 
the  partial  reverses  which  the  armies  have  sustained,  has  given 
rise  to  all  manner  of  evil  reports  among  the  people  of  Hin- 
dostan,  and  to  a  great  deal  of  grumbling  and  discontent 
among  the  English.  After  all,  I  cannot  myself  perceive  that 
there  is  any  body  to  blame.  Every  body  cried  out  for  war  in 
the  first  instance,  as  necessary  to  the  honour  of  the  govern- 
ment, and  murmured  greatly  against  Lord  Amherst  for  not 
being  more  ready  than  he  was  to  commence  it.  Of  the  coun- 
try which  we  were  to  invade  no  intelligence  could  be  obtained; 
and  in  fact  our  armies  have  had  little  to  contend  with,  except 
a  most  impracticable  and  unknown  country.  It  is  unfortunate, 
however,  that  after  a  year  and  a  half  of  war  we  should,  except 
in  point  of  dear-bought  experience,  be  no  further  advanced 
than  at  the  beginning,  and  there  are  very  serious  grounds  for 
apprehending  that  if  any  great  calamity  occurred  in  the  East, 
a  storm  would  follow  on  our  north-western  and  western  fron- 
tier, which,  with  our  present  means,  it  would  be  by  no  means 
easy  to  allay.  Something,  however,  has  been  gained;  if  we 
can  do  little  harm  to  the  Birmans,  it  is  evident  from  their 
conduct  in  the  field,  that  beyond  their  own  jungles  they  can 
do  still  less  harm  to  us.  And  the  inhabitants  of  Calcutta,  who, 
about  this  time  of  year  were  asking  leave  to  send  their  pro- 
perty into  the  citadel,  and  packing  oiF  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren across  the  river,  will  hardly  again  look  forward  to  see- 
ing their  war  boats  on  the  salt-water  lake,  or  the  golden  um- 
brellas of  their  chiefs  erected  on  the  top  of  St.  John's  Cathe- 
dral. I  was  then  thought  little  better  than  a  madman  for  ven- 
turing to  Dacca.  Now  the  members  of  government  are  called 
all  manner  of  names  because  their  troops  have  found  unex- 
pected difficulty  in  marching  to  Ummerapoora. 

For  me  there  are  very  many  ingredients  of  happiness;  much 
to  be  seen,  much  to  be  learned,  and  much,  I  almost  fear  too 
much,  to  be  done  or  attempted.  1  have  been  hitherto  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  be  on  the  best  possible  terms  with  the  government, 
and  on  very  friendly  terms  with  nine  out  often  of  my  few 
clergy;  and  in  my  present  journey  I  have,  I  hope,  been  the 
means  of  doing  some  good  both  to  them  and  their  congregations. 
Indeed,  my  journey  has  been  perfectly  professional;  and 
though  I  certainly  did  not  shut  my  eyes  or  ears  by  the  way, 
I  have  been  at  no  place  which  was  not  either  a  scene  of  duty, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  305 

or  in  the  direct  and  natural  way  to  one.  And  every  where  1 
am  bound  to  say,  I  have  met  with  great  kindness  and  atten- 
tion from  the  local  magistrates,  down  to  the  European  sol- 
diers, and  from  the  Rajas  and  Kings  down  to  the  poor  native 
Christians. 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  R.   J.  WILMOT  HORTON,    ESQ. 

Bombay y  May  10,  1825. 

*•  *  *  *  «•  *  * 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

The  recent  invasion  of  Cutch,  by  some  of  the  wild  people 
of  the  Sindian  provinces,  which  at  one  time  menaced  serious 
consequences,  has  now  subsided,  and  was  probably,  only  an 
effect  of  the  dismal  distress,  from  drought  and  famine,  under 
which  all  those  miserable  and  turbulent  countries  are  now 
suff*ering.  But  the  attention  of  all  India  is  fixed  on  the  siege  of 
Bhurtpoor,  in  Rajpootana,  on  the  event  of  which,  far  more 
than  on  any  thing  which  may  happen  in  the  Birman  empire, 
the  renown  of  the  British  arms,  and  the  permanency  of  the 
British  Empire  in  Asia  must  depend.  The  J^ts  are  the  finest 
people  in  bodily  advantages  and  apparent  martial  spirit  whom 
I  have  seen  in  India,  arid  their  country  one  of  the  most  fertile 
and  best  cultivated.  Having  once  beaten  off  Lord  Lake  from 
their  city,  they  have  ever  since  not  only  regarded  themselves 
as  invincible,  but  have  been  so  esteemed  by  the  greater  part 
of  the  Maharattas,  Rajpoots,  &c.  who  have  always  held  up 
their  example  as  the  rallying  point  and  main  encouragement 
to  resistance,  insomuch  that,  even  when  I  was  passing  through 
Malwah,  "gallantee  shows,"  like  those  carried  about  by  the 
Savoyards,  were  exhibited  at  the  fairs  and  in  the  towns  of  that 
wild  district,  which  displayed  among  other  patriotic  and  po- 
pular scenes,  the  red-coats  driven  back  in  dismay  from  the 
ramparts,  and  the  victorious  Jats  pursuing  them  sabre  in  hand. 

Their  fortress,  too,  has  really  all  the  advantages  which  can 
arise  from  an  excellent  situation,  an  imposing  profile,  a  deep 
and  wide  ditch,  a  good  show  of  cannon,  and  a  very  numerous 
and  hardy  garrison,  while  the  means  which  Sir  D.  Ocliterlony 
has  been  able  to  collect  against  it,  though  really  far  more  con- 
siderable than  could,  under  all  circumstances,  have  been  ex- 
pected, are  described,  in  a  letter  from  General  Reynell,  as 
very  barely  adequate  to  all  which  they  have  to  do;  while  the 
present  intensely  hot  season  is  a  circumstance  greatly  unfa- 
vourable. Still  I  do  not  find  that  any  of  my  military  acquaint- 


306  CORRESPONDENCE. 

ance  despond.  On  the  contrary,  they  all  appear  to  rejoice  at 
the  opportunity  offered  for  effacing  the  former  very  injurious 
impression  which  had  been  made  by  Lord  Lake's  failure, 
tirough  they  admit  that,  should  our  army  fail  again,  few  events 
would  go  so  near  to  fulfil  the  shouts  of  the  mob  a  few  months 
back  in  the  streets  of  Delhi, — ''Company  ka  raj  ko  guia!" 
*'  The  rule  of  the  Company  is  at  an  end !"  Meantime,  heartily 
as  I  desire  the  success  of  our  arms,  and  the  more  so  because 
the  cause,  I  believe,  is  really  a  just  one,  I  am  very  sorry  for 
the  Jats  themselves,  with  whose  rough  independent  manner  I 
was  much  pleased,  and  who  showed  me  all  possible  civilities  and 
hospitality  in  passing  through  their  country.  One  strange  fea- 
ture in  the  case  is,  that  the  war  and  siege  have  been  commenced 
by  Sir  D.  Ochterlony  on  his  own  sole  authority,  and  without 
any  communication  with  the  Supreme  Government!  I  believe 
he  was  fully  justified  by  the  urgency  of  the  casej  but  this  is 
one  among  many  proofs  which  have  fallen  under  my  notice, 
how  impossible  it  is  to  govern  these  remote  provinces  from 
Calcutta,  and  how  desirable  it  is  to  establish  a  separate  Pre- 
sidency for  Northern  and  Central  India,  either  at  Agra,  Mee- 
rut,  or,  perhaps,  Saugor. 

In  the  midst  of  these  troubles,  and  of  those  other  smaller 
blood-lettings  which  are  pretty  constantly  going  on  in  one  part 
or  other  of  this  vast  country,  I  have  had  much  reason  to  be 
thankful  for  my  own  peaceable  progress  through  districts  where, 
a  very  few  weeks  sooner  or  later,  I  should  have  met  with  ob- 
stacles far  beyond  the  reach  of  that  little  military  array  which 
I  described  in  my  last  letter.  1  passed  Bhurtpoor  a  month 
before  the  war  began,  and  Jyepoor  little  more  than  a  month 
after  the  revolution  which  had  taken  place  there  was  tolerably 
settled.  A  similar  good  fortune  attended  me  with  regard  to 
a  rebellion  in  Doongurpoor,  and  a  very  sanguinary  quarrel 
between  two  rival  Mussulman  sects,  at  Mundipoor;  while,  in 
crossing  the  jungles  between  Malwah  and  Guzerat,  had  I  been 
ten  days  later,  I  should  have  found  the  road  literally  impas- 
sable, through  the  exhaustion  of  the  wells  in  the  present 
drought,  and  the  almost  total  drying  up  of  the  Myhe  and  its 
tributary  sti^ams.  As  it  was,  I  suffered  from  nothing  but 
heat,  which,  in  Guzerat  I  found  very  intense,  the  thermome- 
ter frequently  standing  at  109°  in  my  tent.  My  medical  com- 
panion, and  most  of  my  servants,  had  fevers.  1  myself  wea- 
thered the  march  very  tolerably,  though  I  certainly  was  not 
sorry  to  find  myself  "once  more  upon  the  waters,  yet  once 
more,"  at  Surat.  From  that  city  I  embarked  on  the  18th  of 
April  for  Bombay,  a  pleasant  three  days'  passage.  This  is  a 
very  beautiful  little  island,  though  now  sadly  burnt  up.  As 
a  town  and  place  of  residence  it  cannot  compare  with  Calcutta, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  307 

though  in  climate,  at  this  season,  it  is  superior.  Its  main  ad- 
vantage, however,  is  the  society  of  Mr.  Elphinstone,  one  of 
the  ablest  and  most  gentlemanly  men  I  have  ever  known,  and 
possessing  a  degree  of  popularity  and  personal  influence,,  as 
well  as  an  intimate  knowledge  of  every  person  and  thing  with- 
in the  government,  which  I  never  saw  before,  except,  per- 
haps, in  the  Duke  of  Richelieu,  at  Odessa. 

****** 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  JOHN  THORNTON,   ESQ. 

Bombay^  May  12,  1825. 
I  have  owed  you  a  letter  so  long  that  I  feel  now,  like  other 
tardy  debtors,  almost  ashamed  to  pay  it.  My  silence,  how- 
ever, has  not  been  occasioned  by  my  having  ceased,  I  may  say 
even  for  a  day,  to  recollect  and  love  you,  but  from  various 
causes,  arising  out  of  the  way  of  life  in  which  I  have  been  en- 
gaged, which  have  left  me  little  time  to  attend  to  the  episto- 
lary duties  of  friendship. 


During  the  whole  of  my  residence  in  this  country,  and  more 
than  ever  since,  in  the  course  of  this  long  journey,  I  have 
been  enabled  to  see  and  hear  a  good  deal  of  the  advantages 
and  disadvantages  of  an  Indian  life,  your  boys  have  been  very 
frequently  in  my  mind,  and  my  general  impression  has  cer- 
tainly been  that,  though,  except  under  very  unusual  circum- 
stances, great  wealth  is  now  no  longer  to  be  looked  for  in 
India,  and  though  the  dangers  of  the  climate  are,  I  think,  ra- 
ther underrated  than  otherwise  in  Europe,  the  service  still  is 
one  of  the  best  within  an  Englishman's  reach,  as  affording  to 
every  young  man  of  talent,  industry,  and  good  character,  a 
field  of  honourable  and  useful  exertion,  and  a  prospect  of  mo- 
derate competency,  without  any  greater  risk  of  health  and 
life  than,  with  such  views  before  him,  and  with  a  reliance  on 
God's  good  providence,  a  Christian  is  fully  justified  in  en- 
counterino;.  One  great  and  grievous  evil, — the  long  and  al- 
most hopeless  separation  from  country  and  friends,  is  now 
greatly  abated  by  the  plan  said  to  be  adopted  by  the  Court  of 
Directors,  which  not  only  secures  to  their  civil  servants  a 
pension  after  a  certain  length  of  residence  in  India,  but  al- 
lows likewise  of  a  furlough  after  a  portion  of  that  time  is  ex- 
pired. And  I  need  hardly,  I  trust,  say,  that  during  the  time 
which  your  sons  must  be  separated  from  you,  I  hope  they  will 

26* 


308  CORRESPONDENCE* 

always  look  on  me  as  their  uncle,  and  that  it  will  be  a  pride 
and  pleasure  to  my  wife  and  myself,  to  supply,  as  far  as  we 
can  supply,  the  place  of  Mrs.  Thornton  and  yourself  to  them. 
With  regard  to  the  moral  and  religious  dangers  of  India,  I 
am  not  justified  in  concealing  from  you  that  they  are  still 
many  and  great.  I  do  not,  indeed,  think  that  the  tempta- 
tions to  gross  immorality  are  more  numerous  here  than  else- 
where. Drunkenness  is  almost  unknown  in  good  society,  and 
its  effects  on  the  health  are  so  rapid  and  terrible,  and  it  is  re- 
garded with  so  much  dislike  and  disgust  by  the  majority  of 
those  by  whose  influence  public  opinion  is  guided,  that  there 
is  little  reason  to  apprehend  its  ever  becoming  fashionable. 
And  connexion  with  native  women,  though  sadly  common 
among  the  elder  officers  of  the  army,  is,  so  far  as  I  can  learn, 
among  the  younger  servants,  either  civil  or  military,  at  pre- 
sent by  no  means  a  fashionable  vice.  It  is  the  same,  with 
gambling,  the  turf,  and  other  similar  pursuits:  they  are  not 
followed  by  many,  and  those  who  do  follow  them  are,  I  think, 
regarded  by  the  young  men  themselves  as  more  or  less  raffs. 
The  dangers  of  India  seem  to  me  to  be  in  Calcutta,— osten- 
tatious expense  and  continued  dissipation;  and  in  the  remoter 
stations  still  more  than  in  Calcutta,  a  forgetfulness  and  disuse 
of  the  external  means  of  grace  and  godliness.  A  greater 
danger  than  either  of  these  has  been  very  common,  but  is  now, 
I  am  told,  less  frequent  or  less  prominent  than  it  used  to  be; 
I  mean,  an  unbelief  in,  and  denial  of,  Christianity.  Of  this 
last  it  was  not  likely  that  I  should  myself  see  many  instances, 
but  that  it  is  sometimes  to  be  met  with  I  have  learned  from  a 
very  amiable  young  man,  who  had  heard  some  specious  and 
mischievous  arguments  during  the  course  of  his  residence, 
which  had  disquieted  him  a  good  deal,  and  of  which  I  am  hap- 
py to  believe  that  I  succeeded  in  effacing  the  impression.  But 
these  dangers,  great  as  they  are,  are  certainly  not  peculiar  to 
India.  They  will  be  found  more  or  less  every  where,  where 
young  persons  are  left  to  themselves,  as  all  young  men  must 
be  in  a  great  degree,  at  an  early  age.  And  there  are  by  God's 
mercy,  some  countervailing  circumstances  which  make  me 
think  both  that  India  is,  in  these  respects,  less  dangerous  now 
than  it  was,  and  which  may  afford  a  reasonable  hope  to  a 
Christian  parent  that  a  youth  well-grounded  in  his  principles 
will  pass  unharmed  through  the  trial.  In  the  first  place,  a 
boy  who  desires  to  live  a  wise  and  Christian  life,  however  he 
may  be  endangered  by  bad  example  and  bad  advice,  will  at 
least  not  find  himself  alone  in  his  good  resolutions.  He  will 
almost  every  where  throughout  India  find  others  of  his  own 
age  to  countenance  him,  both  in  the  civil  and  military  services, 
and  many  of  these  men  too  highly  esteemed  for  talents  and 


CORRESPONDENCE.  309 

expectations  to  admit  of  the  cause  which  they  support  being 
depressed  or  generally  unpopular.  I  have  met,  to  my  very 
great  comfort  and  satisfaction,  with  many  of  these  good  young 
men,  more,  (as  might  be  expected  from  their  greater  number,) 
in  the  military  than  the  civil  service,  but  enough  in  both  to 
give  a  reasonable  hope  that  if  your  sons  come  out  such  as  I 
hope  to  see  them,  they  will  find  many  like-minded  with  them- 
selves, and  no  want  of  friends  of  the  best  and  most  valuable 
description. 

Another  great  blessing,  and  one  which  must  contribute 
greatly  to  continue  and  increase  the  advantage  which  I  have 
just  mentioned,  is  that,  I  think,  the  greater  part  of  the  young 
married  women  who  make  up  in  the  Mofussil  stations  almost 
the  only  female  society,  and  who  exert,  as  may  be  expected, 
a  very  important  influence  over,  not  their  husbands  only,  but 
their  husbands'  friends  and  guests,  are  domestic,  well-disposed, 
and  religious.  Married  for  the  most  part  very  early,  thrown 
by  the  circumstances  of  the  climate,  and  by  the  active  and 
continual  employments  in  which  the  men  are  engaged,  very 
much  on  themselves,  and  to  seek  amusement  in  reading  or 
with  their  children,  they  are,  even  in  Calcutta,  more  gene- 
rally domestic,  retired,  and  quiet  than  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, and  in  the  country  stations,  where  their  seclusion. is 
necessarily  greater,  they  most  of  them  appeared  to  me  to  have 
thought  more,  and  to  have  less  reluctance  to  converse  on  re- 
ligion than  the  generality  of  females  in  England. 

Another  favourable  circumstance  to  the  maintenance  and 
increase  of  Christian  principles  in  India,  is  the  character  of  the 
great  majority  of  the  clergy  now  amongst  us.  In  this  respect 
a  very  happy  change  has  taken  place  within  the  last  few  years. 


Out  of  twenty-six  resident  clergymen  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land on  the  Bengal  establishment,  with  the  greater  number  of 
whom  I  am  personally  acquainted,  I  find  none  whose  lives 
are  tainted  with  the  suspicion  of  immorality,  none  who  are 
habitually  careless  in  the  discharge  of  their  duty,  and  except 

one  unfortunate  case hardly   any  thing 

has  occurred  to  give  me  pain  during  my  visitation;  while 
there  are  really  some  among  them  whose  names  would  rank 
high  for  talent,  temper,  zeal,  soundness  of  doctrine,  and  holi- 
ness of  life,  in  the  best  and  brightest  periods  of  ecclesiastical 
history.  Such  an  one  is  my  excellent  friend  Corrie,  whose 
character,  much  as  I  valued  and  loved  him  before,  I  only 
learned  to  understand  and  appreciate  fully  during  my  journey 
through  Hindostan,  from  tracing  in  almost  every  part  of  it 


310  CORRESPONDENCE. 

the  effects  of  his  labours,  and  the  honour  in  which  his  name  is 
held  both  by  Christians,  Hindoos,  and  Mussulmans. 

'•^  '^  ^  '-K  "-^  V 

This  is,  however,  a  parenthesis.  I  am  now  speaking  of  the 
means  of  religious  improvement  afforded  to  a  young  man  in 
India,  and  I  am  very  thankful  to  be  able  to  say,  that  though 
we  are  still  most  lamentably  short  of  hands,  for  one  and  thirty 
chaplains  is  a  very  bare  complement,  and  it  will  seldom  hap- 
pen that  more  than  one-half  of  those  will  be  resident  and  ef- 
fective at  the  same  time;  still,  if  a  young  man  can  get  the  op- 
portunity of  hearing  a  sermon  in  Bengal,  the  chance  is  that  he 
will  hear  what  will  do  him  good.  Nor  is  this  all;  if  a  young  man 
is  actually  religious,  I  know  few  countries  where  he  runs  so 
little  risk  of  having  his  religion  embittered  by  religious  con- 
troversy. Except  in  Calcutta  itself,  and  its  neighbourhood, 
there  is  actually  no  sect  worth  naming,  except  the  Church  of 
England.  .  .  .  All  the  Scotch  who  are  worth  having, 
when  out  of  Calcutta  come  to  church  with  us,  and  many  offi- 
cers of  that  nation  have  been  confirmed  by  me,  as  an  indica- 
tion of  their  purpose  to  join  us  entirely.  And  though  there 
are  some  hot-headed  zealots  of  the  two  parties  within  the 
Church,  whom  I  have  some  difficulty  in  keeping  from  occa- 
sional quarrels,  few  countries  can  be  found  in  which  the  feuds 
between  Calvinists  and  Arminians  are  at  present  heard  less 
of  than  in  India.  All  the  members  of  the  Church  are,  in  fact, 
busy,  and  there  are  so  many,  and  so  important  objects  at 
which  all  must  labour,  that  we  have  neither  time  nor  hands  to 
spare  for  calling  names  and  throwing  dirt  in  each  other's  faces. 


Under  all  these  circumstances,  with  the  advantage  of  a  good 
education  in  England,  and  with  those  continued  and  prevail- 
ing prayers  with  which  you  and  their  mother  will  follow  them 
wherever  they  go,  I  certainly  see  no  reason  to  dissuade  you 
from  trusting  your  boys  in  this  other  world,  for  such  it  doubt- 
less may  be  called,  when  compared  with  the  scenery,  habits, 
and  circumstances  of  Europe.  Heaven  grant  that  both  in  a 
worldly  and  heavenly  view,  the  experiment  may  be  a  happy  one! 
Thus  far  I  had  written  six  weeks  ago,  and  soon  after  my 
arrival  within  the  bounds  of  the  Bombay  Presidency.  I  had 
then  no  immediate  opportunity  of  sending  my  letter.  I  have 
been  since  so  much  engaged,  that  I  have,  from  week  to  week, 
been  induced  to  defer  putting  the  finishing  stroke  to  it.  What 
follows  must  be  chiefly  on  business.  I  hope  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  received  long  since,  my  acknowledgments  of 
their  continued  and  splendid  munificence  to  Bishop's  College. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  311 

It  is  my  hope  as  soon  as  I  return  to  Calcutta  to  carry  into  ef- 
fect their  wishes,  in  founding  one  scholarship,  at  least  to  bear 
their  name,  and  to  hold  the  same  place  in  the  establishment 
with  those  of  the  other  Societies,  and  to  increase  the  numbers 
in  succeeding  years  to  any  amount  they  may  wish,  and  the 
limits  of  the  building  may  suffice  for.  In  the  first  instance  I 
have  been  led  to  apply  their  bounty  to  the  completion  of  the 
College  buildings,  more  particularly  the  chapel,  where  it  will 
be  acknowledged  by  an  inscription,  and  for  which  the  bare 
funds  of  the  institution  were  perfectly  insufficient.  Indeed, 
we  are  still  exceedingly  poor.  The  expense,  both  of  building 
and  of  the  monthly  bills,  has  far  exceeded  every  calculation 
which  Bishop  Middleton  had  made;  and  though  the  diet,  &c. 
both  of  students  and  missionaries,  is  conducted  on  a  scale  of 
the  utmost  frugality  consistent  with  health  and  decency,  all 
our  means  would  be  insufficient,  if  it  were  not  for  the  hopes 
which  I  am  endeavouring  to  realize,  of  a  general  collection 
and  subscription  in  the  different  Presidencies  of  India.  In 
every  thing  but  money  the  College  goes  on  as  well  as  an  infant 
establishment  can  do.  The  principal  is  really  indefatigable, 
and  the  five  youths  who  are  now  under  his  care  are  spoken  of 
by  him  as  most  promising,  and  in  terms  not  only  of  approba- 
tion, but  aifection. 

I  will  only  add,  that  the  more  which  I  see  of  India,  the  more 
I  am  convinced  that  its  conversion  will  be  best  accomplished 
by  the  agency  of  natives  of  the  country,  and  that  we  have  al- 
ready almost  reached  the  moment  when  it  will  be  no  longer  de- 
sirable to  incur  the  great  expense  of  sending  out  Missionaries 
from  Europe. 


I  really  hope  that  a  little  energy  and  prudence  only  are  ne- 
cessary, with  God's  blessing,  to  make  your  society  a  far  more 
efficient  source  of  light  and  health  to  India,  than  it  has  yet 
been;  and  for  our  augmented  endeavours  there  is  great  and 
blessed  encouragement  in  the  good  which  has  already  been 
done.  I  was  not  able  to  visit  Burdwan;  but  in  the  stations 
which  I  did  visit,  I  had  the  happiness  of  confirming  and  ad- 
ministering the  Sacrament  to  above  two  hundred  native  con- 
verts, all  so  far  as  I  could  learn,  well-informed  in  their  reli- 
gion; and  all,  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  actuated  by  a  devotional 
spirit,  the  meekest,  the  most  intense,  and  touching  which  in 
any  body  of  people  I  ever  witnessed.  Nor  was  the  promise 
held  out  by  the  children,  the  schools,  and  the  individuals  scat- 
tered through  the  country,  whom  I  met  from  time  to  time,  but 
who  could  not  be  collected  to  receive  confirmation,  less  de- 


312  CORRESPONDENCE. 

liffhtful  to  me.  Surely  there  is  no  inconsiderable  progress, 
wnen  we  take  into  consideration  the  few  years  that  the  Church 
of  England  has  made  any  attempt  to  spread  her  doctrines  in 
the  north  of  India. 


I  have  now  about  half  finished  the  visitation  of  my  diocese, 
a  task  which  has  employed  me  above  ten  months  of  almost  con- 
stant travelling,  during  which  I  have  seldom  slept  under  any 
roof  but  that  of  my  tent,  or  in  the  cabin  of  my  boat,  and  have 
traversed,  I  should  guess  not  much  less  than  three  thousand 
miles  either  by  water  or  on  horseback.  During  all  this  time  I 
have  been  greatly  favoured  in  the  general  health  and  protection 
which  God  has  extended  to  me,  in  His  help  under  a  sharp  fever, 
when  I  was  far  removed  from  all  medical  aid,  and  without  any 
friend  or  countryman  near  me;  in  being  preserved  from  infec- 
tion in  districts  where  several  of  my  people  fell  dangerously 
ill,  and  from  wars  and  violence  in  those  parts  of  Central  India, 
where  tranquillity  can  never  long  be  counted  on. 

I  passed  Bhurtpoor  about  a  month  before,  and  Jyepoor  a 
month  after,  disturbances  which  would  have,  probably,  put  an 
effectual  stop  to  my  progress;  and  a  similar  good  fortune  at- 
tended me  in  the  neighbourhoods  of  Mundissore  and  Doongur- 
poor,  as  well  as  in  Guzerat,  all  which  districts  have  been  more 
or  less  disturbed  and  dangerous.  In  almost  every  instance  I 
met  with  hospitality  and  kindness  not  only  from  my  own  coun- 
trymen, but  from  the  native  princes;  and  I  have  reason  to 
hope  that  I  have  made  myself  not  unacceptable  either  to  Chris- 
tians or  heathens.  Meantime  I  have  found  much  to  interest 
and  delight  me  during  my  long  journey.  I  thought  much  of 
you  and  of  my  long  ramble  with  you,  as  I  stood  on  the  cedar- 
tufted  mountains  of  Kemaoon,  8000  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  with  the  range  of  Himalaya  25,800  feet  high,  within 
forty  miles  distance.  I  thought  of  you  again,  and  wished 
much  for  you,  while  visiting  the  noble  marble  palace  of  Delhi 
and  Agra;  and  while  I  was  comparing,  in  recollection,  my 
Rajpoot  and  Maharatta  escorts,  with  our  Cossac  friends  in  the 
Cuban.  By  the  way,  '^Cosak"  is  the  common  word  for  a 
predatory  horseman  all  through  Northern  and  Central  India. 
Still  however,  with  all  these  qualifications  of  curiosity,  I  have 
had  many  things  to  keep  me  from  forgetting  the  peculiar  and 
appropriate  object  of  my  journey,  as  you  will  believe  v/hen  I 
mention  that  though  many  of  my  Sundays  were  of  course,  ne- 
cessarily passed  in  wildernesses  remote  from  European  or 
Christian  Society,  yet  I  have  found  occasion  and  opportunity 
to  preach  above  fifty  times  since  I  left  Calcutta.  And  though 
I  have  certainly  not  shut  my  eyes  to  the  different  objects  of  in* 


CORRESPONDENCE.  313 

terest  and  beauty  near  which  my  route  carried  me,  I  can  truly 
say  that  I  have  never  gone  out  of  my  way  in  pursuit  of  such 
objects,  and  have  been  no  where  where  I  had  not  professional 
duties  to  perform,  or  which  was  not  in  the  direct  road  to  some 
scene  of  such  duties.  After  all,  in  looking  back  at  the  vast 
and  promising  field  which  I  have  passed,  my  heart  is  ready  to 
sink  when  I  recollect  how  much  more  I  might  have  done,  and 
how  many  things  I  have  omitted,  or  hurried  over.  Another 
time,  if  I  am  spared  to  perform  the  same  journey  again,  I  shall 
know  better  how  to  arrange  my  plans,  and  Heaven  grant  that 
I  may  be  more  diligent  in  carrying  them  into  effect!  My  wife 

and  little  Emily  came  hither  by  sea  ten  days  ago. 

*  *  *  *  ^  * 

We  are  to  remain  here  till  after  the  first  fall  of  rain.  Then 
I  purpose  to  march  to  Poonah,  and  after  returning  hither 
to  sail  to  Calcutta,  taking  Cannanore,  Cochin,  the  Syrian 
Churches,  and  Ceylon  in  my  way.  I  trust  to  be  at  home  again 
by  the  beginning  of  the  cool  weather.  Madras,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  India,  Bangalore,  Hydrabad,  and  Nagpoor,  I  must 
reserve  to  another  year.  I  have  much  to  do  in  all  these  places, 
but  I  cannot  without  inconvenience  to  the  whole  diocese,  be 
so  long  absent  from  Calcutta  as  would  be  necessary  for  me  to 
visit  all  India  in  a  single  journey. 
Dear  Thornton, 

Ever  your  obliged  and  affectionate  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE  LORD  GRENVILLE. 

Bombay,  June  1,  1825, 
My  Lord, 

I  beg  your  Lordship  to  accept  my  best  thanks  for  your  oblig- 
ing letter,  as  well  as  for  the  valuable  and  interesting  present 
which  it  announces.  The  latter  is,  I  trust,  awaiting  my  arri- 
val at  Calcutta,  the  former  reached  me  a  few  weeks  since  on 
my  arrival  within  the  bounds  of  this  government.  It  will,  on 
every  account,  give  me  most  sincere  pleasure  to  find  myself  able 
in  the  slightest  degree  to  contribute  to  the  completeness  of  your 
Lordship's  collection  of  plants,  and  I  have  written  to  Mr, 
Traill,  a  gentleman  who  holds  the  chief  civil  employment  in 
Kemaoon,  and  who  is  more  intimately  acquainted  than  most 
persons  whom  I  know  with  the  forests  and  glaciers  of  the 
Himalaya,  requesting  him  to  send  down*  to  Calcutta,  with  the 
precautions  your  Lordship  suggests,  some  acorns  of  the 
mountain  Ilex,  and  some  cones  of  all  the  different  species  ot 


314  CORRESPONDENCE. 

pine  which  he  can  obtain  within  the  limits  of  his  jurisdiction, 
the  soil,  climate,  and  productions  of  which  differ,  as  I  under- 
stand, in  no  material  respect  from  those  of  the  other  and  un- 
conquered  provinces  of  the  Nypalese  monarchy.   A  visit  which 
I  paid  to  those  glorious  mountains  in  November  and  Decem- 
ber last,  was  unfortunately  too  much  limited  by  the  short  time 
at  my  disposal,  and  by  the  advanced  season,  to  admit  of  my 
penetrating  far  into  their  recesses,  nor  am  I  so  fortunate  as  to 
be  able  to  examine  their  productions  with  the  eye  of  a  botan- 
ist.    But  though  the  woods  are  very  noble,  and  the  general 
scenery  possesses  a  degree  of  magnificence  such  as  I  had  never 
before  either  seen,  or,  (1  may  say,)  imagined,  the  species  of  pine 
which  I  was  able  to  distinguish  were  not  numerous.  The  most 
common  is  a  tall  and  stately,  but  brittle  fir,  in  its  general 
character  not  unlike  the  Scottish,  but  with  a  more  branching 
head,  which  in  some  degree  resembles  that  of  the  Italian  pine. 
Another,  and  of  less  frequent  occurrence,  is  a  splendid  tree 
with  gigantic  arms  and  dark  narrow  leaves,  which  is  account- 
ed sacred,  and  chiefly  seen  in  the  neighbourhood  of  ancient 
Hindoo  temples,  and  which  struck  my  unscientific  eye  as  very 
nearly  resembling  the  cedar  of  Lebanon.     But  these  I  found 
flourishing  at  near  9000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
where  the  frost  was  as  severe  at  night  as  is  usually  met  with 
at  the  same  season  in  England.    But  between  this,  which  was 
the  greatest  height  that  I  climbed,  and  the  limit  of  perpetual 
snow,  there  is  doubtless  ample  space  for  many  other  species  of 
plants,  to  some  of  which  a  Dropmore  winter  must  be  a  season 
of  vernal  mildness.     The  ilex,  which  was  the  only  species  of 
oak  I  saw,  grows  to  a  great  size  on  the  sides  of  the  secondary 
range,  mingled  with  the  walnut,  the  crab,  the  small  black 
cherry,  and  a  truly  European  underwood  of  blackthorn,  bram- 
bles, raspberries,  dog-roses,  and  very  tall  and  formidable  net- 
tles, whose  stings  excited  much  astonishment  and  some  alarm 
in  my  Hindoostanee  followers,  while  I  know  not  whetlier  the 
feelings  which  the  scenery  suggested  to  me  were  more  painful 
or  pleasing,  so  completely  was  I  often  carried  back  to  some 
parts  of  Shropshire  and  Montgomeryshire.    I  am  not  ashamed 
to  say  that  the  tears  were  more  than  once  in  my  eyes,  as  I 
rode  through  thickets,  the  very  air  of  which  breathed  Eng- 
land, and  by  streams  and  little  mountain  lakes,  as  cold,  as 
black,  as  clear  and  noisy,  as  if  they  had  issued  from  Snowdon, 
though  the  spell  was  dissolved  from  time  to  time  by  the  sight 
of  mountains  such  as  Europe  has  not  to  show,  and  by  the  oc- 
casional glimpses  of  the  still  lower  vallies,  dark  with  the  exu- 
berant foliage  of  an  Indian  wood,  and  abounding  in  the  usual 
eastern  accompaniments  of  monkeys,  gigantic  snakes,   and 
malignant  vapours.  These  monkeys  and  snakes  are  found  but 


CORRESFONDENCE*  315 

a  little  way  up  the  hills,  while  on  the  other  hand,  the  chamois 
is  not  seen  below  the  highest  peaks  of  the  secondary  range, 
and  the  yak,  or  Tibet  cow,  pines  away  when  removed  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  its  native  glaciers.  But  there  are  other 
animals,  to  whom  heat  and  cold  seem  matters  of  great  indif- 
ference. The  bear,  the  wolf,  and  the  hyaena  abound  wherever 
there  is  food  and  covert,  and  the  tyger  is  found  of  undiminish- 
ed size  and  ferocity,  from  the  lowest  level  of  the  Terrai,  or 
marshy  forest,  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  up  to  the  edge  of  the 
ice,  and,  I  believe,  even  beyond  the  passes,  into  Chinese  Tar- 
tary. 

*  *  *  *  *  sf 

Your  Lordship  will  readily  believe  that  I  was  not  inatten- 
tive to  the  question  which  was  much  debated  at  the  time  of 
my  leaving  Europe,  respecting  the  real  height  of  these  cele- 
brated hills.  I  conversed  on  the  subject  with  several  of  the  of- 
ficers concerned  in  the  survey,  who  are  men  of  undoubted  ta- 
lent and  science.  Their  measurements,' they  all  assured  me, 
were  taken  with  high-priced  instruments,  on  repeated  trials, 
and  with  a  careful  comparison  of  their  respective  operations, 
sharpened,  indeed,  by  a  natural  jealousy  of  the  extraordinary 
results  to  which  those  operations  conducted  them.  For  many 
of  the  highest  peaks  they  had  extremely  favourable  bases,  and 
I  can  have  no  doubt,  therefore,  that  their  published  tables  may 
be  depended  on,  and  that  Nundi  Devi,  (which  I  feel  some  ex- 
ultation in  saying  is  completely  within  the  limits  of  the 
British  empire,)  is  really  somewhere  about  25,800  feet  above 
the  sea.  Budrintith,  Kedernath,  and  the  three-fold  peak 
above  Gangoutree,  are  all  considerably  lower,  though  the 
Brahmins  are  very  unwilling  to  allow  that  these  last  are  not 
the  highest  of  all.  Some  of  the  sepoys  who  form  my  escort 
were  of  this  caste,  and  I  shall  not  easily  forget  the  enthusias- 
tic delight  which  they  expressed  on  first  obtaining  a  view  of 
Meru.  I  am  willing  to  hope  that  your  Lordship  may  not  be 
uninterested  in  these  few  and  imperfect  memoranda  of  the 
most  remarkable  and  celebrated  natural  objects  which  India 

has  to  offer. 

*****  ;jf 

With  the  most  sincere  good  wishes  for  the  health  and  pros- 
perity of  your  Lordship  and  your  house, 
I  remain,  my  Lord, 

With  much  esteem  and  respect. 
Your  Lordship's  obliged  and  faithful  humble  servant, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 

Vol.   II 27 


316  CORRESPONDENCE. 


TO  THE  HONOURABLE  MRS.  DOUGLASS. 

Bombay,  June  7,  1825. 

*  *  *  «  *  =)j 

I  have,  both  for  myself  and  mine,  many  mercies  for  which 
to  be  thankful,  both  for  my  own  general  good  health  and  per- 
sonal safety,  in  countries  not  the  most  friendly  to  the  human 
constitution,  and  where  the  safeguard  of  laws  is  little  known; 
in  my  recovery  from  one  sharp  fit  of  fever,  of  a  kind  which, 
though  new  in  India,  ran  through  almost  all  the  Presidency  of 
Bengal,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  last  rains;  and  still  more, 
in  the  recovery  and  restoration  of  my  wife  and  children,  in 
repeated  attacks  of  fever,  as  well  as  for  their  safety  under  the 
less  frequent  and  more  romantic  peril  of  their  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood to  a  conspiracy,  a  battle,  and  what  might  have  been 
a  massacre.  From  Emily  herself  you  will  probably  have  heard 
the  details  of  the  extraordinary  and  calamitous  events  at 
Barraekpoor,  of  which  she  was  an  ear,  and  almost  an  eye- 
witness. 

For  myself,  I  have  every  reason  to  think  that  India  agrees 
with  me;  and,  though  I  do  not  pretend  to  be  without  occa- 
sional regrets,  and  fits  of  home-sickness,  I  continue  to  like  the 
country  and  the  people,  and  to  find  the  climate  not  intolerable. 
The  months  of  April  and  May  are,  indeed,  very  and  painfully 
oppressive,  and  those  of  September  and  the  early  part  of  Oc- 
tober little  less  so.  But  the  rainy  months,  though  annoying 
and  wearisome,  are,  for  the  most  part,  tolerably  cool,  and  the 
winter  months,  from  November  to  the  middle  of  March,  afford 
as  agreeable  a  climate  as  any  country  can  boast  of.  The  coun- 
try, of  course,  varies  much  in  scenery  and  productions  on  so 
wide  a  surface  as  I  have  now  traversed;  and  though  India, 
speaking  of  it  generally,  can  hardly  be  spoken  of  as  a  pic- 
turesque region,  and  though  its  general  fertility  and  wealth 
have  also  been  greatly  overrated,  it  contains  many  tracts  of 
wild  and  original  beauty,  many  very  agreeable  expanses  of 
highly  peopled  and  highly  cultivated  lands,  many  noble  rivers, 
some  unequalled  mountains,  and  many  works  of  ancient  art, 
which  may  be  fairly  compared  with,  and  perhaps  even  pre- 
ferred to  the  most  celebrated  structures  in  Europe. 

The  different  nations  which  I  have  seen  in  India,  (for  it  is  a 
great  mistake  to  suppose  that  all  India  is  peopled  by  a  single 
race,  or  that  there  is  not  as  great  disparity  between  the  inha- 
bitants of  Guzerat,  Bengal,  the  Dooab,  and  the  Deckan,  both 
in  language,  manners,  and  physiognomy,  as  between  any  four 
nations  in  Europe,)  have  of  course,  in  a  greater  or  less  de- 
gree, the  vices  which  must  be  expected  to  attend  on  arbitrary 


CORRESPONDENCE.  317 

government,  a  demoralising  and  absurd  religion,  and,  (in  all 
the  independent  states,  and  in  some  of  the  districts  which  are 
partially  subject  to  the  British,)  a  laxity  of  law,  and  an  almost 
universal  prevalence  of  intestine  feuds  and  habits  of  plunder. 
Their  general  character,  however,  has  much  which  is  extreme- 
ly pleasing  to  me:  they  are  brave,  courteous,  intelligent,  and 
most  eager  after  knowledge  and  improvement,  with  a  remark- 
able talent  for  the  sciences  of  geometry,  astronomy,  &c.,  as 
well  as  for  the  arts  of  painting  and  sculpture.  In  all  these 
points  they  have  had  great  difficulties  to  struggle  with,  both 
from  the  want  of  models,  instruments,  and  elementary  instruc- 
tion; the  indisposition,  or  rather  the  horror,  entertained,  till 
lately,  by  many  among  their  European  masters  for  giving  them, 
instruction  of  any  kind,  and  now,  from  the  real  difficulty 
which  exists  of  translating  works  of  science  into  languages 
which  have  no  corresponding  terms.  More  has  been  done,  and 
more  successfully,  to  obviate  these  evils  in  the  Presidency  of 
Bombay  than  in  any  part  of  India  which  I  have  yet  visited, 
through  the  wise  and  liberal  policy  of  Mr.  Elphinstone;  to 
whom  this  side  of  the  Peninsula  is  also  indebted  for  some  very 
important  and  efficient  improvements  in  the  administration  of 
justi«e,  and  who,  both  in  amiable  temper  and  manners,  exten- 
sive and  various  information,  acute  good  sense,  energy,  and 
application  to  business,  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  men, 
as  he  is  quite  the  most  popular  Governor,  that  I  have  fallen 

in  with. 

****** 

Believe  me. 

Ever  your  affectionate  friend  and  cousin, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  THE  REVEREND  J.    J.    BLUNT. 


Bombay^  June  10,  1825. 
I  am  ashamed  to  recollect  how  long  it  is  since  I  wrote  to 
you,  but  you  will  excuse  me  when  you  are  aware  of  the  many 
circumstances  which  must  prevent  my  ever  becoming  a  good 
correspondent.  I  do  not,  indeed,  think  that  in  the  regular 
and  ordinary  functions  of  my  diocese,  there  is  more  or  even 
so  much  to  be  done  as  in  any  of  the  more  extensive  bishoprics 
of  England;  the  small  number  of  the  clergy  must  prevent  this 
being  the  case.  But  on  the  other  hand,  every  thing  which  is 
done  must  be  done  by  myself,  both  in  its  spirit  and  its  details, 
and  partly  owing  to  the  manner  in  which  we  are  scattered, 


318  CORRESPONDENCE. 

and  partly  to  the  general  habit  of  the  country,  all  must  be  done 
in  writing.  Questions,  which  in  England  would  not  occupy  more 
than  iive  minutes'  conversation,  may  here  sometimes  call  for 
a  letter  of  six  or  eight  pages^  and  as  nothing,  or  almost  nothing 
which  concerns  the  interests  or  duties  of  the  Clergy,  can  be 
settled  without  a  reference  to  government,  I  have,  in  fact, 
at  least  two  sets  of  letters  to  write  and  receive  in  every  im- 
portant matter  which  comes  before  me.  As  Visitor  of  Bishop's 
College,  I  receive  almost  every  week  six  or  seven  sheets  of 
close  writing  on  the  subject.  I  am  called  on  to  give  an 
opinion  on  the  architecture,  expense,  and  details  of  every 
church  which  is  built,  or  proposed  to  be  built,  in  India;  every 
application  for  salary  of  either  clerk,  sexton,  schoolmaster,  or 
bell-ringer,  must  pass  through  my  hands,  and  be  recommended 
in  a  letter  to  government.  I  am  literally  the  conductor  of  all 
the  missions  in  the  three  Presidencies 5  and,  what  is  most  se- 
rious of  all,  I  am  obliged  to  act  in  almost  every  thing  from 
my  own  single  judgment,  and  on  my  own  single  responsi- 
bility, without  any  more  experienced  person  to  consult,  or 
any  precedent  to  guide  me.  I  have,  besides,  not  only  the  In- 
dian clergy  and  the  Indian  government  to  correspond  with,  but 
the  religious  Societies  at  houie,  whose  agent  I  am,  and  to  whom 
I  must  send  occasional  letters,  the  composition  of  each  of 
which  occupies  me  many  days:  while  in  the  scarcity  of  clergy 
which  is,  and  must  be  felt  here,  I  feel  myself  bound  to  preach, 
in  some  one  or  other  of  the  churches  or  stations,  no  less  fre- 
quently than  when  I  was  in  England. 

All  this,  when  one  is  stationary  at  Calcutta,  may  be  done^ 
indeed,  without  difficulty;  but  my  journeys  threw  me  sadly 
into  arrears;  and  you  may  easily  believe,  therefore,  not  only 
that  I  am  obliged  to  let  slip  many  opportunities  of  writing  to 
my  friends  at  home,  but  that  my  leisure  for  study  amounts  to 
little  or  nothing,  and  that  even  the  native  languages,  in  which 
it  has  been  my  earnest  desire  to  perfect  myself,  I  am  com- 
pelled to  acquire  very  slowly,  and  by  conversation  more  than 
by  reading.  With  all  this,  however,  in  spite  of  the  many  dis- 
advantages of  climate  and  banishment,  I  am  bound  to  confess 
that  I  like  both  my  employments  and  my  present  country. 
The  work  is  as  much  as  I  can  do,  and  more  than,  I  fear,  I  can 
do  well;  but  a  great  deal  of  it  is  of  a  very  interesting  nature, 
and  India  itself  I  find  so  full  of  natural  beauties  and  relics  of 
ancient  art,  and  there  are  so  many  curious  topics  of  enquiry 
or  speculation  connected  with  the  history  and  character  of  its 
inhabitants,  their  future  fortunes,  and  the  policy  of  Great 
Britain  concerning  them,  that  in  every  ride  which  I  have  taken, 
and  in  every  wilderness  in  which  ray  tent  has  been  pitched,  I 


CORRESPONDENCE.  31& 

have  as  yet  found  enough  to  keep  my  mind  from  sinking  into 
the  languor  and  apathy  which  have  been  regarded  as  natural 
to  a  tropical  climate. 

To  my  preservation  thus  far  from  such  a  result,  a  tendency 
to  which  I  certainly  see  in  many  of  my  friends,  it  is  probable 
that  the  frequent  change  of  scene,  and  the  necessity  of  daily 
bodily  exercise,  and  even  fatigue,  to  which  I  have  been  for 
the  last  ten  months  habituated,  have  much  contributed.  In- 
deed Sir  John  Malcolm  foretold  that  I  should  be  highly  pleased 
with  my  first  visitation,  though  he  warned  me  also  that  I 
should  find  it  an  inexpressibly  wearisome  duty  to  march  over 
the  same  immense  extent  of  ground,  visiting  the  same  places 
a  second  and  a  third  time.  Of  this,  however,  I  am  content 
to  run  the  risk,  and  I  look  forwards  to  my  future  journeys 
with  any  thing  but  a  gloomy  anticipation,  since  I  hope  that  in 

tliem  I  shall  be  accompanied  by  my  wife  and  children. 

******* 

******  * 

During  a  great  part  of  the  year  the  climate  is  sufficiently 
disagreeable j  it  is  by  no  means  pleasant  to  be  kept  a  close 
prisoner  in  the  house  from  soon  after  sunrise  to  a  little  before 
sunset,  at  the  peril  of  a  fever,  or  of  a  stroke  of  the  sun,  if  one 
ventures  to  brave  his  terrors.  It  is  a  poor  comfort  to  a  per- 
son suffering,  as  I  am  at  this  moment,  under  what  is  called 
prickly-heat,  exactly  resembling  the  application  of  red-hot  nee- 
dles to  different  parts  of  the  body  and  limbs,  to  be  told  that  this 
is  a  sign  of  health,  and  that  while  it  continues,  he  is  not  likely 
to  have  the  cholera  morbus.  Nor  is  it  comfortable  at  night, 
during  the  rainy  season,  to  have  the  option  between  utter 
sleeplessness,  if  you  choose  to  shut  the  window,  and  having 
one's  bed,  and  every  thing  in  the  room,  soaked  through  by  the 
storm  beating  in  if  you  think  fit  to  leave  it  open.  Nor  can 
any  comparison  be  formed  between  the  degrees  of  fatigue  oc- 
casioned by  clerical  duties  in  England  and  India,  when  I  come 
out  of  the  pulpit,  as  was  the  case  but  yesterday,  w4th  my 
lawn  sleeves  as  if  they  had  been  soaked  in  water.  All  these 
are  easy  to  be  borne  so  long  as  Providence  gives  health  and 
strength,  and  many  of  them  are  only  confined  to  particular 
seasons^  and  in  all  seasons  considerable  difference  exists  in 
different  parts  of  India.  The  northern  stations  are,  I  think, 
most  favoured,  enjoying  a  longer  continuance  of  cool  weather, 
an  air  at  all  times  drier  and  more  elastic,  and,  except  during 
the  hot  winds,  by  no  means  uncongenial  to  an  English  consti- 
tution. I  have  been  greatly  struck  with  the  difference  in  mus- 
cle, complexion  and  apparent  strengths  between  persons  sta- 
tioned in  the  upper  provinces  and  those  resident  in  Calcutta 
or  Bombay.     Yet  so  impartial  is  death  in  his  visits,  and  so 

27* 


320  CORRESPONDENCE.. 

much  may  prudence  and  good  management  effect  towards  ob- 
viating natural  inconveniences,  that  it  is  not  found  that  on  the 
whole  there  is  greater  mortality  among  the  European  inhabi- 
tants of  these  last-named  cities^  than  among  those  of  Delhi, 
Meerut  and  Bareilly. 
^  Of  the  people  of  this  country  I  gave  you,  if  I  recollect 

right,  a  tolerably  long  account  in  my  last  letter. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  » 

Their  anxiety  after  improvement  is  exceedingly  great,  and 
the  steps  which  are  now  taking,  particularly  by  the  govern- 
ment of  Bombay,  to  translate  useful  books,  especially  mathe- 
matical and  philosophical,  into  their  languages,  is  likely  I 
hope,  to  produce  effects  even  beyond  the  civil  and  secular  im- 
provements, which  is  their  more  immediate  object.  The  la- 
bours of  our  missionaries  in  those  parts  of  India  which  I  have 
seen,  have  not  as  yet  produced  any  great  or  striking  show  of 
converts,  but  they  have  undoubtedly  been  as  successful  as. 
could  fairly  be  expected,  considering  the  short  time  which  has 
elapsed  since  the  attention  of  the  English  Church  was  called 
to  this  new  harvest.  In  the  south,  the  number  of  native  Chris^ 
tians,  even  without  reckoningthe  Syrian  and  Romish  churches, 
is  great,  and  has  been  stated  to  me,  on  the  best  authority,  as 
between  40,000  and  50,000.  And  I  have  myself  set  on  foot 
a  new  mission  among  the  Puharrees,  whose  different  ramifica- 
tions extend  from  Rajmahal  on  the  Ganges,  through  all  Cen- 
tral India  to  the  Deckan  and  the  Arabian  sea,  which  already 
wears  a  promising  appearance,  and  from  which  I  anticipate, 
perhaps  too  sanguinely,  very  great  advantage. 

Many  thanks  for  the  interesting  details  which  you  have  sent 
me  of  your  own  pursuits,  and  of  our  beloved  little  flock  at 
HodneL  1  rejoice  that  you  have  become  acquainted  with  my 
excellent  and  kind-hearted  uncle  and  aunt,  whom  nobody  can 
know  without  loving  and  valuing.  Your  accounts  of  the  poor 
old  people,  have  carried  me  back  very  forcibly,  (I  hardly 
know  whether  painfully  or  agreeably,)  to  some  of  the  happiest 
days  of  my  life,  though  I  have  never  had  reason  to  complain 
of  a  want  of  happiness,  and  you  will  much  oblige  me  by  re- 
membering me  most  kindly  to  some  of  my  best  known  parish- 
ioners. May  I  also  request  of  you  to  take  charge  of  ten 
pounds,  to  distribute  next  Christmas  among  any  of  the  inha- 
bitants who  need  it  most. 

Believe  me,  dear  Blunt, 

Ever  your  sincere  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 

Mrs.  Heber  desires  me  to  send  you  her  kind  regards  and 
good  wishes. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  321 

TO    MRS.     HEBER.' 

.    Foijit  de  Galle,  Sept.  27,  1825, 
Dearest  Mother, 

I  write  from  a  small  port  near  the  southern  extremity  of 
Ceylon,  where  we  are  waiting  for  a  fair  wind,  in  order  to  em- 
bark for  Calcutta,  and  where  I  am  happy  to  steal  the  first  few 
moments  of  leisure  which  have  occurred  to  me  for  some  time, 
to  tell  you  thatweare  all  three  well,  that  we  have  received  good 
accounts  of  our  dear  little  Harriet,  and  that  we  are  thus  far 
prosperously  advanced  in  our  voyage  to  rejoin  her.     We  left 
Bombay,  where  I  had  been  detained  much  longer  than  I  ex- 
pected, on  the  15th  of  last  month,  and  had  a  favourable  voy- 
age to  this  island,  of  which  we  have  now  seen  a  considerable 
portion.  All  which  we  have  seen  is  extremely  beautiful,  with 
great  variety  of  mountain,  rock,  and  valley,  covered  from  the 
hill-tops  down  to  the  sea  with  unchanging  verdure,  and  though 
so  much  nearer  the  Line,  enjoying  a  cooler  and  more  agreea- 
ble temperature  than  either  Bombay  or  Calcutta.   Here  I  have 
been  more  than  ever  reminded  of  the  prints  and  descriptions 
in  Cook's  voyages.     The  whole  coast  of  the  island  is  marked 
by  the  same  features,  a  high  white  surf  dashing  against  coral 
rocks,  which,  by  the  way,  though  they  sound  very  romantic- 
ally, differ  little  in  appearance  from  sand-stone;  a  thick  grove 
of  coco-trees,  plantains,  and  bread  fruit,  thrusting  their  roots 
into  the  very  shingles  of  the  beach,  and  hanging  their  boughs 
over  the  spray;  low  thatched  cottages  scattered  among  the 
trees,  and  narrow  canoes,  each  cut  out  of  the  trunk  of  a  sin- 
gle tree,  with  an  out-rigger  to  keep  it  steady,  and  a  sail  ex- 
actly like  that  used  in  Otaheite.     The  people,  too,  who  differ 
both  in  language  and  appearance  from  those  of  Hindostan,  are 
still  more  like  the  South  Sea  islanders,  having  neither  turban 
nor  cap,  but  their  long  black  hair  fastened  in  a  knot  behind, 
with  a  large  tortoise-shell  comb,  and  seldom  any  clothing  but 
a  cotton  cloth  round  their  waist,  to  which  the  higher  ranks 
add  an  old-fashioned  blue  coat,  with  gold  or  silver  lace,  and 
a  belt  and  hanger  to  match,  a  fashion  which  they  apparently 
received  from  their  Dutch  conquerors,  and  which  has  a  very 
whimsical  appearance.     The  Candians,  who  inhabit  the  in- 
terior of  the  island,  and  whose  country,  as  you  know,  was 
conquered  by  the  English  about  ten  years  ago,  wear  a  more 
showy  dress,  and  one  more  uniformly  Oriental.  They  are  now 
all  tolerably  reconciled  to  our  government,  as  well  as  the  Cin- 
galese, or  inhabitants  of  the  sea-coast,  and  their  chiefs  are  ra- 
*pidly  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  our  language  and  imitatinff 
our  customs.     We  went  up  witli  the  governor.  Sir  Edward 


322  CORRESPONDENCE. 

Barnes,  who,  as  well  as  lady  Barnes,  have  shown  us  much  at- 
tention  and  kindness,  to  Candy,  where  I  preached,  adminis- 
tered the  Sacrament,  and  confirmed  twenty-six  young  people 
in  the  audience-hall  of  the  late  King  of  Candy,  which  now 
serves  as  a  Church.     Here,  twelve  years  ago,  this  man,  who   j 
was  a  dreadful  tyrant,  and  lost  his  throne  in  consequence  of    ' 
a  large  party  of  his  subjects  applying  to  General  Brownrigge 
for  protection,  used,  as  we  were  told,  to  sit  in  state  to  see  those 
whom  he  had  condemned  trodden  to  death,  and  tortured  by 
elephants  trained  for  the  purpose.   Here  he  actually  compelled 
by  torments,  the  wife  of  one  of  his  prime  ministers,  whom  ho 
suspected  of  plotting  against  him,  to  bruise  with  her  own  hands 
two  of  her  children  to  death  with  a  pestle  and  large  mortar,  before 
he  put  her  to  death  also;  and  here  at  that  time  no  Englishman .  J 
or  Christian  could  have  appeared' except  as  a  slave,  or  at  the  1 
risk  of  being  murdered  with  every  circumstance  of  cruelty.    1 
And  now  in  this  very  place  an  English  governor  and  an  Eng- 
lish congregation,  besides  many  converted  natives  of  the  island, 
were   sitting  peaceably  to   hear  an  English  Bishop  preach! 
Christianity  has  made  perhaps  a  greater  progress  in  this  island 
than  in  all  India  besides.     The  Dutch,  while  they  governed 
the   country,   took  great  pains  to  spread  it,  and   the  black 
preachers  whom  they  left  behind,  and  who  are  still  paid  by 
the  English  government,  show  a  very  great  reverence  for  our 
Common  Prayer,  which  is  translated  into  their  language,  and 
a  strong  desire  to  be  admitted  Members  of  the  Church  of  Eng-   ^ 
land.     One  excellent  man,  named  Christian  David,  I  ordain-  J 
ed  last  year  in  Calcutta,  and  there  are  several  more  in  train-  I 
ing.   There  are  also  some  very  meritorious  missionaries  in  the 
island.   One  of  them  is  the  son  of  our  neighbour,  Mr.  Mayor, 
of  Shawbury,  who,  together  with  another  Shropsliire  man,  Mr. 
Ward,  has  got  together  a  very  respectable  congregation  of 
natives,  as  well  as  a  large  school,  and  built  a  pretty  church, 
which  I  consecrated  last  Sunday,  in  one  of  the  wildest  and 
most  beautiful  situations  I  ever  saw.    The  effects  of  these  ex- 
ertions have  been  very  happy,  both  among  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic descendants  of  the  Portuguese,  and  the  heathen.     I  have 
confirmed,  since  I  came  into  the  island,  360  persons,  of  whom 
only  sixty  were  English,  and  in  the  great  Church  at  Colombo, 
.1  pronounced  the  blessing  in  four  different  languages,  English, 
Portuguese,  Cingalese,  and  Tamul. 

Those  who  are  still  heathen,  are  professedly  worshippers  of 
Buddh,*  but  by  far  the  greater  part  reverence  nothing  except 

•  The  Moodelier  of  Candy,  G.  P.  G.  ^e  Sanim,  gave  the  Bishop  a 
Sermon  in  the  Pali  langnag-e  and  Cingalese  character,  said  to  have  been 
written  by  Buddli  himself,  being  one  of  17,575  he  preached  in  his  way 


CORRESPONDENCE.  323 

the  Devil,  to  whom  they  offer  sacrifices  by  night,  that  he  may 
do  them  no  harm.  Many  of  the  nominal  Christians  are  in- 
fected with  the  same  superstition,  and  are  therefore  not  ac- 
knowledged by  our  missionaries,  otherwise  instead  of  300  to 
be  confirmed,  I  might  have  had  several  thousand  candidates. 
Many  thanks  for  the  kind  trouble  you  took  to  get  subscriptions 
for  the  female  schools  at  Calcutta.  I  hope  we  shall  be  able 
to  raise  nearly  money  enough  for  them  in  India.  On  the  whole 
I  rejoice  to  believe  that  in  very  many  parts  of  this  great  coun- 
try, "  the  fields  are  white  already  to  harvest,"  and  it  is  a  cir- 
cumstance of  great  comfort  to  me,  that  in  all  the  good  which 
is  done,  the  Church  of  England  seems  to  take  the  lead,  that 
our  Liturgy  has  been  translated  into  the  five  languages  most 
used  in  these  parts  of  the  world,  and  that  all  Christian  sects 
in  the  East  seem  more  and  more  disposed  to  hold  it  in  reve- 
rence. Still  little,  very  little  is  done  in  comparison  with  all 
which  is  to  do. 

Ever  your  affectionate  son, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO    THE    REV.   JOHN    MAYOR,   VICAR    OF    SHAWBURY,  IN    SHROP- 
SHIRE. 

Galle,  Septemh&r  28,  1825. 
My  Dear  Sir, 

I  seize  a  few  moments  of  the  first  leisure  which  I  have  had 
for  a  long  time,  while  waiting  a  change  of  wind  to  enable  our 
ship  to  leave  this  harbour  for  Calcutta,  to  give  you  some  ac- 
count of  those  most  dear  to  you  in  this  island.  I  arrived  at 
this  port  five  weeks  ago,  in  visiting  the  differeut  parts  of  my 
great  diocese;  and  had  tiie  pleasure  to  be  greeted,  among  those 
who  first  came  off  to  our  vessel,  by  your  son  Robert,  looking 
stout  and  well,  and  very  little  altered  from  what  he  was  when 
I  last  saw  him  in  England.  He  remained  on  board  the  greater 
part  of  the  day;  but  the  fatigue  which  we  had  all  to  undergo, 
before  we  got  on  shore,  the  sea  being  stormy,  and  our  vessel 
in  a  bad  situation,  unfortunately  brought  on  an  attack  of  fever, 
which  prevented  his  accompanying  us,  as  was  his  first  inten- 
tion, to  Colombo.  His  disorder  since  has  completely  left 
him. 

Mrs.  Heber  and  I  had  the  pleasure,  on  our  return  from  the 
north,  of  passing  the  best  part  of  three  days  with  him  and  Mrs. 

between  Rajmahanoora  and  Nalundranoora,  concerning  the  state  of  ab- 
sorption into  the  Deity.  Ed. 


3^4  CORRESPONDENCE. 

Mayor,  in  their  romantic  abode  at  Baddagame;  where  we  also 
found  his  colleague,  Mr.  Ward,  with  his  wife  and  family,  in 
perfect  health  and  contented  cheerfulness.  I  consecrated  their 
Church,  which  is  really  an  extraordinary  building,  consider- 
ing the  place  in  which,  and  the  circumstances  under  which  it 
has  been  erected  j  and  I  had  also  the  happiness  of  administer- 
ing Confirmation  and  the  Lord's  Supper  to  a  small  but  pro- 
mising band  of  their  converts  and  usual  hearers;  and  I  can 
truly  say,  both  for  my  wife  and  myself,  that  we  have  never 
paid  a  visit  which  has  interested  and  impressed  us  more  agree- 
ably, from  the  good  sense,  good  taste,  and  right  feeling,  the 
concord,  zeal,  and  orderly  and  industrious  piety  which  ap- 
peared to  pervade  both  families  and  every  part  of  their  esta- 
blishment. Both  of  them  are,  in  fact,  all  which  you  or  I  could 
wish  them — active,  zealous,  well-informed,  and  orderly 
Clergymen — devoted  to  the  instruction  and  help  of  their 
Heathen  neighbours — both  enjoying  a  favourable  report,  I 
think  I  may  say  without  exception,  from  the  Governor,  public 
functionaries,  and,  in  general,  from  all  the  English  in  the  Co- 
lony whom  I  have  heard  speak  of  them. 

The  cause  of  Christianity  is,  I  hope,  going  on  well  here. 
There  is,  among  the  Cingalese  and  Tamul  population,  a  very 
large  proportion  of  nominal  Christians;  who,  although  unhap- 
pily they  are  only  nominal,  because  their  fathers  were  so  be- 
fore them,  or  because  the  profession  is  creditable,  and  though 
too  many  of  them  still  pay  their  superstitious  homage  to 
Buddha  and  to  the  Evil  Principle,  have,  notwithstanding, 
fewer  external  difficulties  to  contend  with,  in  embracing  the 
true  faith,  than  fall  to  the  share  of  the  poor  Hindoos.  Among 
these,  and  in  part  among  the  professed  Pagans,  I  am  rejoiced 
to  find  that  conversions  are  going  on,  if  not  very  rapidly,  yet 
steadily;  and  that  the  rising  generation  afford  excellent  hope* 
of  repaying  richly,  and  even  in  our  own  time,  the  labours  of 
the  good  men  who  have  given  up  parents,  and  friends,  and 
country  in  their  service.  I  have  had  myself  the  pleasure  of 
confirming  in  this  place.  Candy,  and  Colombo,  three  hundred 
natives  of  the  island — Portuguese,  (that  is,  descendants  of 
Portuguese,)  Cingalese,  and  Malabarians:  besides  which,  had 
I  been  able  to  go  to  Jaffna,  for  which  the  season  has  too  far 
advanced,  I  am  assured  that  I  should  have  had  at  least  one 
hundred  candidates  more.  In  the  great  cliurch  at  Colombo, 
I  had  to  pronounce  the  blessing  in  four  different  languages. 
Surely  this  should  eucourao-e  our  best  hopes  and  best  exer- 
tions, and  should  fill  us  with  gratitude  to  God,  who  has  al- 
ready made,  *'  the  fields  white  unto  the  harvest." 

It  gave  me  much  pleasure  to  hear  from  your  son  of  your  pro- 
longed good  health,  and  that  of  your  family.     The  signal  for 


CORRESPONDENCE.  325 

sailing  is  given,  and  I  have  only  time  to  add  my  best  wishes 
to  them,  and  to  beg  you  to  tell  our  common  friends  in  Shrop- 
shire, that  I  often,  very  often,  think  of  them.  I  and  mine, 
thank  God,  are  perfectly  well. 

Dear  Sir,  ever  truly  yours, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO    RICHARD    HEBER,   ESQ. 

Calcutta^  December  15,  1825. 
My  DEAR  Brother, 

Your  kind  letter,  which  I  received  in  the  last  month,  soon 
after  my  return  from  Ceylon,  gave  me  very  sincere  pleasure. 


I  have,  indeed,  been  a  very  bad  correspondent,  and  I  fear 
that  both  my  private  friends,  and  the  different  public  bodies 
with  which  I  am  connected,  have  all  alike  some  cause  to  com- 
plain of  me.  With  regard  to  these  last,  however,  and  more 
particularly  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge, 
I  really  did  not  suppose  that  they  desired  to  hear  from  me, 
unless  1  had  something  worth  communicating,  connected  with 
them  or  their  committees,  or  their  missions  in  England;  and 
as  I  have  not  yet  visited  Madras,  where  only  they  have  any 
establishments  particularly  worth  speaking  of,  I  had  not,  till 
since  my  return  to  Calcutta,  any  adequate  motive  for  trou- 
bling them,  or  taking  up  a  portion  of  my  own  time,  which  I 
could  very  ill  spare.  If,  however,  they  suppose  that  because 
I  have  not  written  them  long  letters,  I  have  neglected  their 
interest  here,  or  that  I  have  paid  more  attention  to  any  other 
!  religious  society,  except  that  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gos- 
\  pel,  to  whom  I  had  a  great  deal  to  say,  they  are  most  exceed- 
\  ingly  mistaken.  Their  agents  and  missionaries  here,  I  am 
convinced,  will  bear  me  witness,  that  I  have  worked  as  hard 
in  their  cause,  and  been  as  importunate  in  soliciting  subscrip- 
tions for  them,  as  any  body  could  be;  and  in  consequence  of 
the  ill  state  of  their  funds,  my  own  subscriptions  and  dona- 
tions, (besides  the  share  they  have  had  of  the  sum  entrusted 
to  me  by  the  Parent  Society,)  more  than  double  those  which 
I,  at  first,  thought  it  necessary  to  bestow.  As  to  writing  let- 
ters, it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  that  in  India  all  business  is 

transacted  by  writing. 

*  *  *■  *        "     *•  * 

v|t  ^'  '^  ^  vf:  '^ 

But  I  have  no  wish  to  plague  you  any  further  with  my  vin- 


326  CORRESPONDENCE. 

dication.  You,  I  am  sure,  will  acquit  me  of  intentional  di8- 
respect  towards  any  body,  particularly  a  society  which  has 
done  so  much  good  to  the  best  of  all  causes. 

The  aftairs  of  the  sister  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  have  occupied  a  good  deal  of  my  time  and  thoughts. 
Bishop's  College,  besides  costing  two  or  three  times  as  much  i 
in  its  building  as  it  was  at  first  calculated  it  would,  has  turned  ' 
out  so  expensive  in  the  monthly  bills  and  necessary  keep  of  its 
inmates,  that  all  the  resources  I  found  were  quite  inadequate 
to  finish  the  chapel,  build  the  printing-house,  or  do  more  than 
keep  the  wolf  from  the  door.  Nor  would  they  have  sufiiced 
even  for  this  last  object,  had  it  not  been  for  the  munificent 
supplies  which  for  these  three  years  we  have  received  from  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  and  for  the  large  subscriptions 
and  benefactions  which  we  have,  within  the  last  eight  months, 
obtained  from  ditferent  parts  of  India.  For  the  present,  the 
institution  is  doing  very  well,  and  I  have  great  reason  to  be 
pleased  with  the  manner  in  which  it  is  conducted  by  Mv.  Mill, 
the  principal,  who  is  one  of  the  best  and  ablest,  as  he  is  de- 
cidedly the  most  learned  man  in  India.  J 

*  *-      .        *  *  *  *  * 

Archdeacon  Barnes  is  every  way  a  great  loss;  sensible,  un- 
affected, and  friendly,  exceedingly  well  acquainted  with  the 
business  and  interests  of  the  Church  in  his  Archdeaconry,  and 
popular  with  all  ranks  of  people  there.  Should  any  thing 
happen  to  me,  there  is  nobody  whom  I  should  so  gladly  look 
to  as  my  successor;  but  if  he  has  to  v/ait  for  the  expiration  of 
my  term,  he  will  probably  think  twice,  even  if  the  situation 
were  ottered  him,  before,  at  fifty  years  old,  he  again  goes  out 
to  India.  In  spite,  however,  of  these  labours  and  drawbacks, 
and  in  spite  of  the  far  heavier  and  more  painful  circumstance 
of  separation  from  home,  and  my  oldest  and  dearest  friends, 
I  should  be  extremely  ungrateful  if  I  did  not  speak  well  of 
India,  and  acknowledge  myself  happy  in  my  present  situation. 


The  circumstance  which  I  have  felt  most  painfully,  was  my 
long  separation  from  my  wife  and  children;  a  measure,  how- 
ever, which  my  subsequent  experience  of  some  of  the  coun- 
tries which  I  had  to  pass  through,  sufficiently  showed  to  have 
been  no  unnecessary  sacrifice.  In  Madras,  whither  I  am  go- 
ing the  latter  end  of  next  month,  I  yet  hope  that  they  may  ac- 
company me,  but  am  not  certain,  as  it  must  depend  on  infor- 
mation which  I  am  collecting.  Mrs.  Middleton  made  the 
journey,  and  though  I  am  compelled  to  go  at  a  later  period  of 
the  season,  and  in  hotter  weather,  I  have  no  doubt  that  Emily 


CORRESPONDENCE.  327 

might  go  with  perfect  safety.  But  for  the  children  1  am  not 
without  apprehensions.  At  all  events,  my  separation  from 
them  will,  I  trust,  be  far  shorter  than  the  lastj  nor,  though  I 
hear  much  of  the  beauty  of  the  south  of  Malabar,  and  look 
forward  with  great  interest  to  seeing  the  Syrian  Christians, 
can  I  think  that  Emily  will  lose  so  much  of  glorious  prospect 
and  romantic  manners,  as  she  did  by  not  accompanying  me 
up  the  crags  of  Almorah,  and  among  the  wild  and  warlike 
tribes  of  Malwah.  Bombay  and  Ceylon  we  saw  together,  and 
she,  as  well  as  I,  was  greatly  delighted  with  both,  particularly 
the  natural  beauties  of  the  latter.  The  former  was  rendered 
particularly  interesting  to  us  from  the  renewal  of  my  old  ac- 
quaintance with  Archdeacon  Barnes,  and  from  the  terms  of 
intimacy  on  which  we  lived  M'ith  Mr.  Elphinstone,  the  most 
remarkable  man  in  India  for  talents,  acquirements,  unde- 
viating  good  nature  and  flow  of  conversation.  We  were  his 
guests  for  almost  three  months,  and  I  found  something  fresh 
to  admire  or  like  in  him  every  day.  Everybody  in  India  does 
him  justice,  as  an  excellent  man  of  business,  ia,  "grand  hom- 
me  d'etat  de  guerre,"  a  conqueror  and  a  legislator. 

%  it  If:  if:  a  %  * 

Ceylon  is  a  noble  island  in  all  natural  riches,  but  I  have 
seldom  seen  a  country  for  which  man  has  done  so  little.  The 
present  governor.  Sir  Edward  Barnes,  is  an  able  and  active 
man,  whose  measures  seem  to  have  been  well-directed  for  the 
interest  of  the  people,  and  he  has  certainly  done  much  for 

Ceylon. 

»  *  *  *  .         *  *  * 

Emily  and  I  have  gained  much  in  our  Calcutta  society  by 
the  appointments  of  Sir  Charles  Grey  and  Lord  Combermere. 
Grey  is  looking  extremely  well,  and  very  little  altered  from 
what  he  was  in  England;  he  is  very  popular  here;  so  is  also 
Lord  Combermere,  from  his  constant  accessibility,  and  close 
attention  to  business,  as  well  as  by  his  good-natured  and  cor- 
dial manners.  He  is  now,  I  apprehend,  engaged  in  the  siege 
of  Bhurtpoor,  unless  the  usurper  of  that  little  state  has  sub- 
mitted without  coming  to  blows.  If  the  war  really  goes  on, 
and  the  city  falls.  Lord  Combermere  will  add  greatly  to  his 
own  reputation  and  that  of  the  English  name,  inasmuch  as 
Bhurtpoor  is  the  only  fortress,  and  the  Jats  the  only  people  in 
j India,  who  boast  that  they  have  never  been  subdued  either  by 
Ithe  Mogul  emperors  or  the  English,  having,  as  you  are  aware, 
beaten  off  Lord  Lake  with  great  loss,  in  many  successive 
campaigns.  I  did  not  see  the  city,  except  at  a  distance,  but 
passed  through  the  country,  and  was  Very  hospitably  and 
civilly  treated.  I  thought  them  a  very  fine  military  race,  and 
their  territory  one  of  the  best  governed  in  the  north. 

Vol.  IL— 28 


I 


228  CORRESPONDENCE. 

The  army  under  Lord  Combermere  is  considerable,  amount- 
ing to  near  25,000  men,  with  a  fine  train  of  artillery^  there 

are  only,  however,  about  3000  of  these  Europeans 

Should  he  fail,  it  is  unhappily  but  too  true,  that  all  northern 
and  western  India,  every  man  who  owns  a  sword,  and  can 
buy  or  steal  a  horse,  from  the  Sutlege  to  the  Nerbudda,  will 
be  up  against  us,  less  from  disliking  us  than  in  the  hope  of 
booty.  And  still  more  unfortunately,  it  is  not  easy  to  say 
where  another  army  can  be  found  to  meet  them,  now  that 
Bombay  is  fully  occupied  on  the  side  of  Sindia,  and  all  ^he 
strength  of  British  India  in  Ava.  From  Ava  and  Arracan  the 
news  continues  to  be  bad;  it  is  but  too  certain  that  our  army 
is  melting  away  with  sickness,  to  which  natives  and  Euro- 
peans appear  equally  liable;  and  there  are  various  rumours  as 
usual  in  Calcutta  yet  more  gloomy. 

"With  Emily's  best  love  and  good  wishes,  and  my  own  daily 
prayers  for  your  happiness,  and  if  it  pleases  God,  our  pros- 
perous meeting  again,  believe  me,  dear  Heber, 
Ever  your  affectionate  brother, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 

The  steam-boat,  long  promised,  is  at  length  arrived,  after 
nearly  a  four  months'  passage.  People  say  this  is  very  well 
for  a  beginning,  but  unless  she  quickens  her  pace,  most  of  us 
will,  I  think,  prefer  the  old  conveyances.  We  often  wish  it 
were  possible  for  you  to  pay  us  a  visit  here.  If  you  were  not 
fully  engaged,  India  is  really  well  worth  seeing. 


TO  THE  RIGHT  HON.   LORD  GRENVILLE. 

Calcutta,  Dec.  24,  1825. 
My  Lord, 

I  have  much  pleasure  in  being  enabled  to  forward  to  your 
Lordship,  by  the  H.  C.  S.  Minerva,  what  will  I  hope  turn 
out  a  good  collection  of  the  finest  Alpine  plants  in  India,  to- 
gether with  a  few  others,  which,  though  not  strictly  coming 
under  this  description,  my  amiable  and  able  friend  Dr.  Wal- 
lich,  begs  leave  to  add  to  the  list,  on  account  of  their  beauty 
and  rarity.  I  am  bound  at  the  same  time  to  express  my  grati- 
tude to  your  Lordship  for  the  very  beautiful  poems  which  I 
found  in  Calcutta,  on  my  return  from  my  visitation.  The  pri- 
vilege of  reading  and  possessing  compositions  so  classical 
would  be  valuable  any  where,  but  no  where  I  think  so  much 
as  in  India,  where,  though  there  is  really  a  great  deal  of  ta- 
lent and  information  of  different  kinds,  there  are  compara- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  329 

tively  few  who  have  acquired  or  retained  any  taste  for  Greek 
and  Roman  literature. 

Of  public  news,  India  at  this  moment  affords  but  little, 
though  much  of  the  most  serious  importance  may  be  expected 
every  hour.  Lord  Combermere  is  besieging  Bhurtpoor,  with 
good  hopes  of  succeeding,  and  of  thus  wiping  off  the  sort  of 
stain  which  the  successful  resistance  of  the  Jats  on  a  former 
occasion  is  considered  as  having  left  on  the  British  arms. 
I  remain  witli  much  respect  and  regard, 
My  Lord, 

Your  Lordship's  faithful  and  obliged  servant, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  THE  REVEREND  DEOCAR  SCHMIDT. 

[In  answer  to  his  letter  on  the  re-ordination  of  Lutheran  Ministers.] 

Calcutta,  December  23d,  1825. 
Reverend  and  dear  Sir, 

The  great  press  of  business  with  which  I  have  had  to  con- 
tend ever  since  my  arrival  in  Calcutta,  has  prevented  my  re- 
plying to  your  letter  of  the  1st  of  November,  till  after  the 
event  occurred  from  which  you  wished  to  dissuade  me.  I  can 
assure  you,  however,  that  though  your  arguments  have  re- 
mained unanswered,  they  have  been  carefully  weighed  by  me, 
and  that,  though  I  have  concluded  by  acting  difierently,  I 
think  highly  of  the  talent  which  suggested  them. 

I  have  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  enter  into  a  contro- 
versy connected  with  some  of  the  most  important  and  difficult 
questions  in  the  whole  field  of  polemic  divinity.  I  only  wish 
to  convince  you  that  I  have  not  been  inattentive  to  your  let- 
ter, and  to  set  you  right  on  some  points  on  which  you  appear 
to  have  misunderstood  me  in  our  last  conversation.  You  sup- 
pose that  I  generally  admit  ordination  by  Presbyters  without 
a  Bishop  to  be  valid.  I  do  not  admit  this.  All  I  said  is,  that 
when  a  Christian  nation  has,  by  unfortunate  circumstances, 
lost  its  apostolical  succession  of  Bishops,  the  continuance  of 
Ministers  being  a  thing  absolutely  needful  and  essential, 
those  good  men  are  not  to  be  censured  who  perpetuate  it  by 
the  best  means  in  their  power.  And  were  I  to  return  to  Ger- 
many, I  would  again,  as  before,  humbly  and  thankfully  avail 
myself  of  the  preaching  and  sacramental  ordinances  of  the  Lu- 
theran evangelical  church,  not  doubting  that  they  are  a  true 
church  of  Christ,  and  that  the  Spirit  of  God  is  with  them,  as, 
I  trust,  he  is  with  us  also. 


330  CORRESPONDENCE. 

But,  though  an  imperfect'ordination  may,  doubtless,  be  ac- 
cepted by  our  Lord  and  common  Master,  and  though  a  church, 
under  circumstances  such  as  I  have  described,  may  remain  a 
true  church  still,  it  does  not  follow  that,  where  this  supposed 
dehciency  may  be  supplied,  it  may  not  be  adviseable  for  a 
Minister  of  the  Gospel  either  to  seek  for  fresh  orders  himself, 
or  to  counsel  others  to  do  so.  And  this  may  be  more  espe- 
cially adviseable  whefe  his,  or  their,  ministerial  utility  is 
likely  to  be  much  augmented  by  a  closer  union  with  a  church 
under,  (what  I  conceive  to  be,)  the  ancient  discipline.  We, 
(that  is,  the  members  of  our  church,)  have  no  right  or  incli- 
nation to  judge  other  national  churches.  But  our  own  flocks 
have  a  sacred  right  to  be  well  satisfied  as  to  the  Divine  xom- 
mission  of  those  whom  other  spiritual  rulers  set  over  them. 
Even  where  the  smallest  doubt  exists  of  the  perfection  of  th^ 
orders  received,  and  their  conformity  with  apostolical  practice, 
it  may  be  a  part  of  Christian  prudence  to  choose  the  safer 
side.  And  even  where  this  doubt  is  not  felt  by  ourselves,  yet, 
if  its  existence  in  others  impedes  our  usefulness,  we  have  the 
highest  possible  warrant,  in  the  case  of  St.  Paul  and  Timo- 
thy, for  condescending,  even  in  a  more  material  point,  to  the 
ftiilings  and  prejudices  of  our  brethren.  Accordingly,  if  a 
preacher  ordained  in  the  method  practised  in  Germany,  fore- 
sees a  marked  advantage  to  Christ's  cause  in  a  closer  alliance 
with  his  Episcopalian  bretiu-en,  I  see  not  that  he  dishonours 
his  previous  commission  by  seeking  our  prayers  and  blessing, 
in  the  form  which  ive  think  most  conformable  to  God's  will. 
And  the  humility  is,  surely,  any  thing  but  blameable,  which 
stoops,  for  a  time,  to  even  an  inferior  degree  and  inferior  du- 
ties than  those  which  he  has  already  exercised. 

For  I  see  no  weight  in  the  argument  that  holy  orders  can- 
not be  repeated  without  profanation.  In  the  first  place,  it  is 
a  matter  of  doubt  whether  the  first  orders  were  valid  or  no, 
and,  in  the  very  fact  of  fresh  orders  being  given  without  a 
formal  renunciation  of  the  former,  it  is  plain  that  the  fresh 
orders  are  tacitly  '•'*  sub  conditione."  But,  secondly,  there  is 
nothing,  as  I  conceive,  in  the  nature  of  ordination  which 
makes  it  profane  to  repeat  it  on  just  grounds,  or  reasonable 
scruple  on  the  part  of  the  church  or  its  rulers.  Ordination 
stands  on  a  different  ground  from  baptism.  It  is  not  a  new 
creation^,  but  a  solemn  devotion  of  a  man  to  a  particular  office, 
accompanied  by  prayer,  and,  as  we  believe,  an  accession  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  But  though  a  man  can  be  only  once  regene- 
rate, he  may  be  often  renewed  and  quickened  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  there  is  no  reason,  a  priori,  why  he  should  not 
receive  an  outioard  ordination,  (as  he  certainly  may  receive 
an  inward  call,)  to  a  new  sphere  of  action  in  the  church,  as 


CORRESPONDENCE.  .  331 

well  as  to  a  new  office  in  it.  I  do  not  say  that  this  has  ever 
been  the  practice  of  the  church,  though  I  still  think  that  some- 
thing very  analogous  to  it  may  be  found  in  Acts  xiii.  But  I 
say  this  to  show  the  difference  between  the  two  cases  of  re- 
baptizing  and  re-ordaining,  and  that  the  same  risk  of  profa- 
nation does  not  attach  to  the  last  as,  I  admit,  does  in  every 
doubtful  case  to  the  former. 

Accordingly,  I  need  not  remind  you  that  the  great  body  of 
ancient  Christians  allowed  the  validity  of  baptism,  (the  mat- 
ter and  words  being  correct,)  whether  conferred  by  heretics, 
schismatics,  or  laymen.  But  though  the  ancient  church  never 
re-baptized,  they  most  certainly  re-ordained  in  the  case  of  the 
Meletian  and  Novatian  Clergy,  as  appears  from  Theodoret, 
Eccles.  Hist.  1.  i.  ix.  and  Cone.  Nicen.  can.  8. 

Still  1  have  no  right  or  desire  to  judge  devout  and  learned 
divines  of  another  national  church.  If  they  come  to  sojourn 
among  us,  satisfied  with  the  commission  which  they  have  re- 
ceived, or  if  they  desire  our  help  in  their  efforts  to  convert  the 
heathen,  I  gladly  meet  them  as  Christians  and  fellow-labour- 
ers. I  rejoice  sincerely  that  Christ  is  made  known  so  widely 
through  their  means.  1  gladly  admit  them,  (as  I  should  desire 
myself  to  be  admitted  in  Germany  or  Holland,)  to  the  com- 
munion of  our  church,  and  to  all  that  interchange  of  good-will 
and  good  offices,  (as  in  the  case  of  the  Missionary  societies 
of  our  church,)  which  is  essential  to  our  carrying  on  the  Gos- 
pel work  in  concert.  But  I  am  not  inconsistent  with  these 
feelings  if  I  think  that  the  difference  between  us,  though  it 
should  not  interrupt  our  communion,  is  in  itself  a  misfortune 
to  be  remedied.  Nor  do  I  feel  the  less  love  and  reverence 
for  their  character  and  talents,  when  I  earnestly  wish  them  to 
become  in  all  points  like  ourselves,  except  those  sins  of  infir- 
mity of  which  I  am  mournfully  conscious. 
I  remain,  dear  Sir,. 
Your  sincere  friend  and  servant  in  Christ, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  MRS,  R.   HEBER. 

SandheadSy  February  5thy  1826. 
I  get  this  letter  ready  to  send  by  the  pilot,  who  expects  to 
be  able  to  leave  us  in  the  course  of  the  morning.  We  have  a 
beautiful  day  and  a  favourable  breeze*.  The  strenuous  mea- 
sures which  government  took  to  secure  my  horse  a  passage 
have  proved  abortive.  They  were  very  kindly  meant,  and  I 
have  reason  to  believe  that  I  have  to  thank  for  them  the  zeal 

28^ 


332  CORRESPONDENCE. 

of  Mr.  Lushington,  who  appears  to  have  taken  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  on  the  subject.  I  am  now  quite  well.  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  both  my  illness  and  yours  proceeded  in  part  from 
the  agitation  of  this  second  sad  parting.  1  should  have  been 
unworthy  of  you  could  I  have  left  you  without  a  severe  pang. 
We  are  both  of  us  however  in  God's  hands;  and  as  it  is  not  to 
please  ourselves  that  we  are  now  separated,  I  have  hope  in 
Ilim  that  He  will  bring  us  together  again  in  happiness,  and 
our  separation  will  be  much  shorter  than  the  last! 

(iod  bless  you, 

Reginald  Calcutia. 

1  enclose  a  letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Oxford,  concerning  the 
books  intended  for  All  Souls  library,  which  I  will  thank  you 
to  send  by  the  Grenville,  as  well  as  the  package. 

Our  cuddy  party  is,  in  a  good  degree  made  up  of  sick  offi- 
cers returning  to  Europe,  miserable  spectacles,  alas!  from 
Prome  and  Arracan.  I,  at  first,  expected  a  dull  and  uninstruc- 
Tive  party,  but,  as  usual,  I  found  persons  from  whom  I  could 
learn  a  great  deal.  One  officer  was  one  of  the  first  explorers 
of  the  Macquarrie  river  in  New  South  Wales,  is  exces- 
sively fond  of  natural  history,  and  has  corresponded  with  Sir 
Joseph  Banks  and  Humboldt;  another  of  our  passengers,  a 
young  civilian,  has  visited  many  parts  of  Kemaoon  which  1 
have  not  seen,  and  flatters  himself  that  he  has  had  a  sight  of  a 
real  unicorn  I 

One  of  the  poor  invalids  below  has  died,  and  there  are  some 
others  very  weak  and  ill,  but  who  will,  I  trust,  recover 
strength  as  we  get  out  to  sea.  Mr.  Robinson  and  I  take  it 
by  turns  to  read  prayers  to  them,  and  find  both  them  and  the 
ship's  company  very  attentive.  I  have  also  found  the  cuddy 
party  not  only  willing  but  anxious  that  I  should  read  evening 
j)rayers  as  on  board  the  Grenville  and  Discovery. 


TO   HIS  GRACE  THE  ARCHBISHOP  OF  CANTERBURY. 

On  hoard  the  Basswah  Merchant t  Bay  of  Bengal^  February  15, 1826. 
My  Lord,  "^ 

]t  seems  my  fate  to  be  able  to  address  your  Grace  from  on 
board  ship  only.  I  am  now  again  engaged  in  my  visitation, 
and  hope  by  God's  blessing,  during  the  next  five  or  six  months, 
to  complete  the  circuit  of  the  southern  stations  of  the  presi- 
dency of  Madras,  and  the  Syro-Malobaric  Churches  in  Tra- 
vancore,  besides,  if  the  state  of  the  Monsoon  allows,  paying  a 
short  visit  to  Ceylon.  1  trust  again  to  have  the  honour  oi  writing 


CORRESPONDENCE.  333 

to  your  Grace  before  the  conclusion  of  my  journey,  but  the 
immediate  cause  of  my  present  letter  is  to  request  your  direc- 
tions and  assistance  in  enabling^  the  Indian  clergy  to  marry, 
under  certain  circumstances,  without  the  canonical  prelimi- 
naries of  banns  or  license.  The  custom  was  for  the  civil  ser- 
vants of  the  Company  to  obtain  the  permission  of  the  gover- 
nor, and  for  the  soldiers  to  produce  a  similar  written  license 
from,  their  commanding  officers,  while  the  few  who  did  not  fall 
under  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  descriptions  were  only  re- 
quired, I  believe,  to  give  a  written  assurance  to  the  clergy- 
man that  they  knew  of  no  impediment  to  their  legal  union. 

For  several  years  back,  however,  in  all  marriages  of  civili- 
ans of  rank,  or  of  commissioned  officers,  and,  generally,  where- 
ever  there  was  wealth  on  either  side,  the  supreme  courts  of 
judicature  of  Calcutta  and  Madias,  and  the  Governor  of  Bom- 
bay, have  taken  on  themselves  to  issue  marriage  licenses. 
Their  power  to  do  this  is  very  generally  questioned,  and 
seems  to  rest  on  a  very  unsound  foundation,  while  the  fees 
demanded  by  their  officials  are  complained  of  as  a  heavy 
grievance.  iStill  the  measure,  though  at  first  opposed  by  the 
Clergy,  has  been  at  length  generally  acquiesced  in,*  and  Bishop 
Middleton,  as  I  understood,  made  an  ineftectual  appeal  to  the 
Board  of  Control,  to  get  the  prerogative  transferred  from  the 
Court  of  Judicature  to  the  Bishop  and  his  Surrogates. 

He  issued,  however,  a  letter  to  his  clergy,  shortly  after  his 
arrival,  enjoining  a  more  careful  adherence  than  they  had 
formerly  shown  to  the  regular  hours  of  solemnizing  marriages, 
and  forbidding  them  strictly  to  perform  the  ceremony  with- 
out either  banns,  or  a  license  from  the  usual  authorities.  And, 
in  consequence  of  this  order,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Goode,  chap- 
lain at  Poonah,  having  refused  to  marry  a  soldier  who  w^as 
under  marching  orders,  and  who  could  not  remain  in  canton- 
ments a  sufficient  time  for  the  publication  of  banns,  had  a  long 
and  angry  correspondence  with  Major-General  Sir  Lionel 
Smith,  which  was  referred  to  me  a  short  time  before  I  left 
Calcutta  to  embark  on  my  present  voyage. 

In  comparing  the  Major-General's  arguments  with  the  facts 
which  he  states,  and  those  whicii  have  come  to  my  knowledge 
from  other  quarters,  it  certainly  does  appear  that  the  grievance 
complained  of  is  neither  ima;^inary  nor  trifling.  A  soldier 
may  be,  and  often  is,  ordered  to  march,  at  a  very  few  days 
notice,  to  distances,  where  a  woman,  not  being  his  wife,  can- 
not follow  or  accompany  him,  while  months,  and  even  years 
may  elapse  without  his  being  stationary  for  three  weeks  to- 
gether in  a  place  where  there  is  a  resident  diaplain. 

There  are  also  many  stations  at  M'hich  detachments  of  sol- 
diers are  fixed,  which  a  chaplain  only  visits  alternate  months. 


334  CORRESPONDENCE. 

or  sometimes  four  Sundays  in  the  year.  Indeed  it  has  been 
only  within  the  last  two  years,  by  the  great  exertion  of  Arch- 
deacon Barnes  in  Bombay,  and  by  my  own  influence  with  the 
Supreme  government,  that  even  this  kind  of  occasional  and 
itinerant  service  has  been  provided  for.  But,  at  sueh  places 
as  these,  it  is  plain  that  banns  are  impossible  or  nugatory, 
while,  setting  aside  the  fact  that  the  Indian  price  of  a  license 
is  quite  beyond  the  means  of  a  soldier,  it  does  not  appear  that 
persons  in  his  situation  of  life,  or  such  females  as  he  is  likely 
to  marry,  are  of  that  "  state  or  quality,"  to  which  by  canon 
ci.  the  granting  of  a  marriage  license  is  restricted. 

It  must  also  be  born  in  mind,  that  these  restrictions  press 
with  more  severity  on  soldiers  and  the  usual  dependants  on 
a  camp,  than  on  any  other  persons  of  the  same  rank  in  life. 
Their  courtships  are,  in  this  country,  proverbially  short;  and 
it  is  necessary  that  they  should  be  so,  since  the  number  of 
Christian  females  from  whom  they  can  choose  is  very  small, 
while  the  miseries  and  dangers  to  M'hich  an  unprotected  woman 
is  liable  in  India,  are  such  as  to  make  it  highly  desirable  that 
widows  and  female  orphans  should  remain  as  short  a  time  un- 
married as  possible.  Nor  is  it  possible  to  become  acquainted 
with  the  temptations,  and  almost  inevitable  ruin  of  body  and 
soul  to  which  an  European  soldier,  without  a  wife,  is  exposed 
in  India,  without  feeling  the  propriety  of  throwing  as  few  ob- 
stacles as  possible  in  the  way  of  lawful  marriage. 

It  is  a  galling  circumstance,  too,  that  these  restrictions  only 
apply  to  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  those  places 
which  have  the  residence  or  occasional  visits  of  a  clergyman. 
The  parties  have  only  to  go  over  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  and 
the  priest  will  unite  them  without  trouble,  and  at  the  shortest 
notice.  Where  there  is  no  chaplain  within  a  certain  distance, 
the  commanding  oflicer  does  the  same.  And  in  the  Residen- 
cies, where  there  are  ministers  of  the  Scottish  Church,  I  have 
myself  known  a  person,  who  though  of  that  nation,  had  for 
several  years  attended  our  worship  without  scruple,  who  be- 
thought himself  of  his  paternal  creed  out  of  pure  good  hus- 
bandry, and  because  his  approaching  marriage  could  be  cele- 
brated with  less  expense  and  delay  than  it  could  be  according 
to  the  rules  of  the  Church  of  England.  Nor  are  the  Clergy 
of  the  two  rival  communions  at  all  backward  to  contrast  their 
liberty  in  these  particulars,  with  the  expensive  and  burden- 
some restrictions  to  which  the  members  of  our  Church  are 
subjected. 

The  consequence  is,  as  I  have  stated  to  your  Grace,  that, 
so  far  as  soldiers  are  concerned,  the  canons  and  Bishop  Mid- 
dleton's  injunctions  have,  in  most  parts  of  India,  remained  a 
dead  letter.     The  chaplains  have,  nearly  without  exception, 


CORRESPONDENCE.  335 

gone  on  in  their  former  course  of  marrying  soldiers  and  camp- 
followers  on  the  simple  certificate  of  the  officers  commanding 
the  regiments  to  which  they  belong.  They  plead  in  excuse 
for  this  conduct,  that  a  similar  liberty  is  used  by  all  his* Ma- 
jesty's military  chaplains,  when  on  foreign  service^  that  the 
marriage-act  does  not  extend  to  India,  and  the  canons  are 
inapplicable,  while  an  attempt  to  enforce  them  would  embroil 
tliem  with  the  military  officers,  on  whose  good-will  depends 
all  their  comfort,  and  much  of  their  usefulness,  at  the  same 
time,  that  it  would  act  as  a  direct  encouragement  to  vice,  and 
produce  much  inconvenience  and  misery  to  many  helpless  in- 
dividuals. 

Your  Grace  will  have  already  perceived  that  I  regard  their 
case  as  a  strong  one,  and  I  trust  that  I  shall  not  be  thought  to 
have  gone  too  far  in  my  compliance  to  the  necessities  of  the 
country  in  the  following  rules,  which  I  have  forwarded  through 
the  Archdeacon  for  the  provisional  guidance  of  the  Clergy, 
till  your  Grace's  further  directions  could  be  obtained,  for 
which  I  at  the  same  time  stated  my  purpose  of  applying. 

The  first  rule  permits  Chaplains  tq  "celebrate  the  marriages 
of  military  persons,  soldiers,  female  followers  of  the  camp, 
sutlers,  and  others  subject  to  martial  law,  under  the  rank  of 
commissioned  officers,  without  banns  or  license,  and  by  vir- 
tue of  a  written  permission  signed  by  the  commanding  officer 
of  the  station,  garrison,  or  detachment,  to  which  such  soldier 
or  military  person  belongs."  The  second  provides  that  "such 
permission  must  be  presented  to  the  officiating  clergyman  at 
least  two  days  before  the  celebration  of  the  marriage,  unless, 
for  some  urgent  cause,  he  may  see  fit  to  be  satisfied  with  a 
shorter  notice."  The  third  directs  the  clergyman,  "if  any 
doubts  arise  as  to  the  propriety  of  the  connexion,  to  make  in- 
quiry without  delay,  both  personally  from  the  parties,  and 
otherwise;  and  should  it  appear  to  him  that  any  lawful  impe- 
diment exists,  to  suspend  the  ceremony  till  further  satisfac- 
tion, reporting  the  same  immediately  to  the  Commanding 
Officer,  and  if  need  be,  to  the  Archdeacon  and  the  Bishop." 

Your  Grace  will  observe  that  I  have  directed  the  Clergy  to 
receive  the  certificate  of  permission  not,  (as  now,)  from  the 
Commanding  Officers  of  regiments,  but  from  the  commandant 
of  the  station,  garrison,  or  detachment.  My  reason  is,  that 
this  last  is  the  usual  person  whom  the  chaplain  has  to  consult, 
and  from  whom  he  receives  communications  connected  with 
the  military  part  of  his  fiock,  and  that  I  have  found  it  desire- 
able  that,  so  far  as  can  be  done,  all  other  military  officers  should 
be  prevented  from  interfering  on  any  ground  with  the  chaplain 
in  the  performance  of  his  duties.  And  it  is  also  probable  that 
in  any  difficulty  which  may  arise  as  to  the  marriage  of  a  sol- 


336  CORRESPONDENCE. 

dier,  the  Commandant  of  the  station  will  be  more  free  from 
undue  bias,  and  more  open  to  the  chaplain's  objections.  I 
have  also  thought  it  necessary  to  assign  some  period  for  the 
previous  notice  in  order  to  give  the  chaplain  time  for  seeing 
the  parties,  and  making  any  enquiries  which  may  be  neces- 
sary. 

With  the  same  view  of  publicity  I  have  suggested  to  his 
Excellency,  the  Commander-in-Chief,  the  propriety  of  having 
the  names  of  all  soldiers  or  military  persons,  intending  to  mar- 
ry, inserted  in  the  orderly-book  of  their  regiment  or  detach- 
ment, and  read  at  the  head  of  companies,  at  least  four  days  be- 
fore the  celebration  of  the  ceremony.  That  the  permission  to 
marry  shall  proceed  from  the  otticer  commanding  the  regiment 
or  detachment,  in  the  first  instance,  and  having  received  the 
signature  of  the  ofl&cer  commanding  the  station,  &c.  be  for- 
warded by  him  to  the  chaplain,  and  that  both  these  officers  be 
especially  desired  to  make  due  enquiries  as  to  the  fitness  of  the 
union,  and,  more  particularly,  their  age,  condition,  &c. 

The  measure  which  I  have  yet  ventured  on  relates  to  mili- 
tary persons  only  beneath  the  rank  of  officers,  inasmuch  as 
the  inconveniences  whicK  they  suffered  were  the  greatest,  and 
they  were  the  only  description  of  persons  from  whom  I  had  a 
direct  complaint^  while  I  was  sensible  that  any  thing  which 
should  extend  further  would  be  likely  to  produce  a  jealousy 
in  the  supreme  courts,  and  might  possibly,  (from  its  conse- 
quences with  property,  inheritance,  &c.)  lead  to  consequen- 
ces wliich  I  was  myself  unable  to  foresee. 

Your  Grace  will  not  fail,  however,  to  observe,  that  there 
are  many  subaltern  officers  to  whom  the  payment  of  so  high 
license  fees  may  be  very  inconvenient,  while  the  publication 
of  their  banns  is  liable  to  the  same  difficulties  as  those  of  the 
soldier.  And  there  are  very  many  persons  in  India,  engaged 
in  civil  or  commercial  pursuits,  in  whose  case  the  publication 
of  banns  is  quite  nugatory,  while  their  means  and  rank  in  life 
are  by  no  means  such  as  to  make  a  license  procurable  or  even 
proper. 

There  are  many  thousand  families  of  what  are  called  the 
'Mialf  caste,"  or  *'  country -born,"  scattered  up  and  down  In- 
dia, engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  indigo,  or  employed  in  the 
different  studs,  farms,  silk  manufactories,  &c.  which  the  go- 
vernment have  established  in  their  territories.  A  Christian 
of  this  description  maybe  resident,  (where  there  are  many 
such,)  in  an  humble  sphere  of  life  at  Etawah,  or  Mynpooree, 
in  the  Dooab.  If  he  desires  to  marry  a  female  of  his  own  de- 
gree, he  must  now,  if  the  canons  be  complied  with,  go  to  keep 
a  residence  at  Agra,  where  the  nearest  chaplain  resides,  a  dis- 
tance of  seventy  miles  from  his  home  and  property,  in  order 


CORRESPONDENCE.  337 

that  his  banns  may  be  published.  Now,  not  to  mention  that 
such  an  absence  from  home  would  be  ruinous,  perhaps,  in  more 
ways  than  one,  to  both  the  parties,  it  is  plain  that  the  publi- 
cation of  banns  so  far  from  his  own  neighbourhood,  and  in  a 
place  where  his  face,  and  perhaps  his  name,  is  unknown,  could 
answer  no  good  purpose.  On  the  other  hand,  if  he  prefers 
a  license,  he  must  get  two  householders  in  Calcutta,  a  city 
which  he  has  never  seen,  and  from  which  he  is  distant  eight 
hundred  miles,  to  make  oath,  and  enter  into  a  bond,  that  he  and 
his  intended  wife  are  of  full  age,  and  that  there  is  no  impedi- 
ment to  their  union,  and  he  is  to  pay  high  fees  for  an  instru- 
ment, the  issuers  of  which  can  know  nothing  of  him  or  his  con- 
nexions. 

Accordingly,  a  man  thus  situated,  either  goes  to  the  nearest 
station  for  merely  the  day  of  marriage,  having  the  banns  pub- 
lished in  his  absence,  and  pro  forma,  or  watches  the  opportu- 
nity of  some  Chaplain  passing  through  his  neighbourhood,  in 
which  case  he  endeavours,  generally  with  success,  to  persuade 
him  to  marry  him  without  either  banns  or  license,  though  ne- 
ver, (as  I  am  assured,)  without  enquiry;  or  he  has  recourse  to 
some  of  the  neighbouring  Priests,  who  ask  no  questions  at  all, 
or  to  the  lay  Magistrates,  among  whom  there  are  many  who 
feel  a  great  reluctance,  and  some  who  display  a  very  unfortu- 
nate facility  in  undertaking  not  only  this,  but  other  ecclesi- 
astical functions. 

I  once  was  inclined  to  suggest  as  a  remedy  for  these  mis- 
chiefs, the  appointment  of  a  sufficient  number  of  Surrogates. 
To  this,  however,  there  are,  in  the  present  state  of  India, 
many  objections.     If  these  Surrogates  were  appointed  by  the 
Bishop,  the  legality  of  their  licenses  would  be  hotly  contested 
by  the  Supreme  Court,  a  contest  in  which  Bishop  Middleton 
was  by  no  means  encouraged  to  embark,  and  which  would  very 
possibly  lead  to  a  painful  and  mischievous  disunion  between 
the  Bishop  and  his  Majesty's  judges.     If  the  Supreme  Court 
had  the  appointment,  1  really  do  not  know  who  they  could  get 
to  serve  the  office.     The  magistrates,  who  are  civil  servants 
of  the  Company,  I  feel  almost  persuaded  would  not;  inasmuch 
as  great  jealousy  exists  between  the  King's  courts  and  the 
Adawlut,  and  the  Indian  civilians  dislike  nothing  so  much  as 
being  drawn,  by  any  means,  into  contact  with  English  law 
and  English  attorneys.     I  myself  should  not  wish  the  Clergy 
to  receive  commissions  from  an  authority  which  I  am  inclined 
to  think  an  usurpation,  and  I  should  be  still  more  unwilling  to 
transfer  to  them  any  part  of  the  odium  which  belongs  to  the 
stamp  duty,  and  fees  of  marriage  licenses.     At  the  same  time 
your  grace  will  observe,  that  the  creation  of  Surrogates  would 
not  meet  the  evil,  inasmuch  as  a  large  portion  of  those  per- 


338  CORRESPONDENCE. 

sons  who  cannot  have  recourse  to  banns,  are  equally  precluded 
by  poverty,  from  obtaining  a  license. 

Nor  if  the  whole  system  of  Surrogates  were  carried  into  its 
fullest  extent  would  any  thing  be  really  gained  in  point  of 
security  against  improper  marriages.  No  end  would  be  gained 
by  making  some  of  the  Clergy  Surrogates,  since,  scattered  as 
tney  are  over  a  vast  extent  of  country,  the  applicant  for  a  li- 
cense would  neither  know  where  to  go,  nor  be  materially  re- 
lieved by  such  a  provision.  If  «//.were  invested  with  this 
character,  it  would  be  merely  to  recognise  in  each  of  them  the 
exercise  of  a  discretion  which  each  now  exercises,  and  which 
may  be  just  as  well  exercised  without  the  imposition  of  an 
expensive  tax  and  a  fee;  or,  if  this  character  were  given  to  the 
magistrates,  it  would  only  be  to  remove  this  discretion  from 
the  Clergy  to  a  description  of  persons  who,  respectable  as 
many  of  them  are,  are  by  no  means  so  well  qualified  to  exer- 
cise it. 

Accordingly,  I  would  respectfully  submit  to  your  Grace, 
that  in  all  cases  where  the  parties  desiring  to  be  married  are 
natives  of  India,  or  British  subjects  holding  no  rank  in  the 
service  either  of  his  Majesty  or  the  honourable  East  India 
Company,  and  where  their  place  of  residence  is  thirty  miles 
and  upwards  from  any  of  the  three  Presidencies,  the  chaplain 
or  officiating  clergyman  may  dispense  with  banns  or  license 
on  receiving  a  written  declaration,  signed  by  the  parties  them- 
selves, and  by  two  neighbouring  Christian  householders,  that 
they  are  of  age,  and  that  there  is  nolegal  impediment  to  their 
union,  or,  if  either  is  under  age,  then  a  similar  declaration 
from  their  parents  or  guardians.  These  documents  to  be 
countersigned  by  the  magistrate  or  magistrates  of  the  district 
or  districts  to  which  they  respectively  belong,  with  the  decla- 
ration that  he  has  no  reason  to  doubt  the  truth  of  the  accom- 
panying statement.  The  document  to  be  transmitted  to  tlie 
clergyman  at  least  twenty  days  before  the  celebration  of  the 
marriage,  and  the  clergyman  to  be  enjoined  to  use  the  same 
precautions  in  case  of  suspicion  as  before  prescribed  in  mili- 
tary marriages. 

Such  an  arrangement,  as  it  would  leave  to  the  Supreme 
Court  their  present  hold  over  all  the  more  wealthy  and  digni- 
fied part  of  the  population  of  these  countries,  would,  I  con- 
ceive, meet  with  no  opposition  from  them.  It  would  relieve 
the  Clergy  from  the  heavy  alternative  under  which  they  now 
labour,  of  either  refusing  marriage  where  no  Christian  objec- 
tion exists,  or  incurring  a  suspension  of  three  years,  (if  indeed 
the  canons  are  of  force  in  India,)  and  it  would  do  much  to- 
wards extending  and  confirming  the  popularity,  the  influence, 
and  consequently  the  usefulness  of  the  English  Church  in  these 


CORRESPONDENCE.  339 

vast  countries.  On  these  grounds,  and  speaking  the  general 
sentiments  of  the  Indian  Clergy,  I  beg  leave  to  express  their 
earnest  hope,  as  well  as  my  own,  that  your  Grace  will  afford 
us  such  relief  as  you  may  think  proper,  together  with  direc- 
tions for  our  future  guidance.  I  will  only  add  my  hope  that 
the  canons  in  question,  being  simply  ecclesiastical,  and  never 
having  received  the  sanction  of  parliament,  it  will  not  be  be- 
yond your  Grace's  power  to  authorize  our  omitting  observ- 
ances which,  useful  and  proper  as  they  may  be  at  home,  are 
by  no  means  calculated  for  the  state  of  society  in  these  colo- 
nies. 

The  other  provisions  of  canonical  hours,  of  marrying  in 
church,  when  there  is  one  within  a  reasonable  distance, 
&c.  may  remain  as  they  are  now  fixed.  They  used  formerlv 
to  be  much  neglected  in  India,  but  they  are  now  universally 
recognised,  and  have  many  obvious  advantages,  without  anv 
material  inconvenience. 

Since  the  despatch  of  my  last  letter  to  your  Grace  till  my 
embarkation  twelve  days  ago,  I  have  been  resident  in  Calcutta, 
where  I  had  the  satisfaction  of  setting  on  foot  a  district  com- 
mittee of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  cor- 
responding to  those  in  Bombay  and  Ceylon,  and  of  collecting 
for  the  immediate  use  of  Bishop's  college,  and  eventually  for 
the  support  of  its  schools  and  missions,  a  very  seasonable  sup- 
ply of  about  15,000  s.  rupees,  which  will,  I  hope,  receive 
considerable  additions  from  the  other  stations  of  the  Presi- 
dency when  their  respective  chaplains  shall  have  received  and 
acted  on  the  letters  which  I  sent  them.  The  new  society  re- 
ceived a  cordial  support  from  the  Commander  in  chief,  the 
Chief  Justice  and  Judges,  the  members  of  council,  and  most 
of  the  chief  functionaries  of  government  both  civil  and  mili- 
tary. Lord  Amhei'St  alone,  I  regret  to  say,  though  he  wished 
us  every  success,  felt  himself  precluded  by  the  line  of  policy 
which  he  had  undertaken  to  adopt  before  his  arrival  here,  from 
giving  us  the  same  countenance  which  Mr.  Elphinstone  and 
Sir  E.  Barnes  have  done.  It  yet  remains  to  be  seen  what 
success  will  attend  us  at  Madras. 

In  consequence  of  this  supply,  together  with  that  previously 
received  from  Bombay,  and  the  further  helps  hoped  for  from 
England,  the  college  council,  now  complete  by  the  arrival  of 
the  two  professors,  having  been  encouraged  to  go  on  with  the 
internal  fitting  up  of  the  chapel,  and  the  erection  of  the  print- 
ing-house. They  are  still,  however,  going  on  from  hand  to 
mouth,  and  obliged  to  anticipate  their  resources  with  a  hardi- 
ness which  necessity  only  justifies.  The  utility  and  success 
of  the  institution  is  becoming  every  day  more  apparent.  I 
wish  that  the  statutes  had  held  out  greater  encouragement  to 

Vol.  II.— 29 


340  CORRESPONDENCE. 

private  benefactors  and  non-foundation  students,  or  that  some 
greater  latitude  were  allowed  in  these  respects  to  the  college 
council  and  the  visitor.  However,  there  is  a  power  reserved 
of  altering  and  adding  to  them  by  the  society  at  home,  and 
the  necessary  expansion  will,  I  have  no  doubt,  eventually  take 
place.  At  present,  I  think,  and  the  Principal  is  now  of  the 
same  opinion,  that  their  jmblication  in  India,  (which  was  ap- 
parently contemplated,)  would  rather  do  harm  than  good.  Of 
the  new  Professors"  I  have  as  yet  seen  little.  For  Principal 
Mill  my  respect  and  esteem  increase  the  more  I  know  of  him. 

I  have  filled  up  the  Archdeaconry  of  Bombay,  vacant  by 
the  resignation  of  my  valued  friend  Dr.  G.  Barnes,  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Hawtayne,  formerly  domestic  chaplain  to  Bishop 
Middleton. 

I  was  not  so  fortunate  as  to  find  St.  Peter's  Church  in  Fort 
William,  or  the  Bengalee  Chapel,  of  which  I  wrote  in  my  last 
letter  to  your  Grace,  in  a  sufficiently  advanced  state  to  admit 
of  consecration.   I  had  the  satisfaction,  however,  of  preaching 
in  a  Church  which,  though  not  newly  built,  was  newly  appro- 
priated to  the  forms  of  our  episcopal  ritual  in  the  late  Dutch 
colony  of  Chinsurah,  thirty  miles  from  Calcutta,  which  I  had 
induced  government  to  place  at  my  disposal,  and  to  which  I 
had  assigned  as  Pastor  the  Rev.  Mr.  Morton,  one  of  the  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel. 
The  building  is  not  large,  but  elegant,  and  I  found  a  numer- 
ous and  attentive  congregation,  of  which  the  Dutch  portion 
had  been  long  accustomed  to  the  English  language,  and  ac- 
quiesced with  much  seeming  good  will  in  the  introduction  of 
our  Liturgy  and  the  appearance  of  a  pair  of  lawn  sleeves. 
The  facility  with  which  their  objections  were  overcome,  I  im- 
pute partly  to  the  sound  sense  and  good  temper  of  Principal 
Mill,  whom  I  had  charged,  (while  on  my  visitation,)  with  the 
management  of  the  affair^  partly  to  the  great  preponderance 
of  English,  who,  even  before  the  colony  was  transferred  to 
us,  had  already  settled  there;  and  in  a  great  degree  also  to 
the  amiable  and  Christian  spirit  displayed  by  the  Rev.  M.  La 
Croix,  a  Dutch  missionary  who  had  previously  occupied  the 
Church,  (there  being  no  other  chaplain,)  who  professed  him- 
self not  sorry  to  relinquish  a  situation  in  which  his  imperfect 
knowledge  of  English  was  a  disadvantage  to  him  for  the  un- 
divided application  of  his  time  and  talents  to  the  natives,  and 
has  since  been  himself  a  regular  attendant  on  Mr.   Morton's 
ministry.     To  our  Church  the  point  was  one  of  much  import- 
ance.    As  a  missionary  station  Chinsurah  is  very  valuable. 
The  congregation,  already  numerous,  is  likely  to  increase 
greatly,  and  to  receive  a  greater  and  greater  proportion  of  our 
countrymen,  and  had  the  moment  of  the  transfer  been  let  slip. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  341 

there  were  many  of  the  sectaries  who  would  eagerly  have  of- 
fered their  services  to  government,  and  were  likely  enough  to 
have  fixed  themselves  there  permanently.  I  mention  this  to 
your  Grace,  because  one  of  my  Clergy,  whom  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  name,  thought  fit  to  reilect  severely  on  my  conduct  in 
removing  Mr.  Morton  fromthesuperintendanceof  the  schools 
supported  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Calcutta  by  the  Society  for 
Promoting  Christian  Knowledge. 

During  my  residence  in  Calcutta  I  held  an  ordination  of 
Deacons,  and  another  of  Deacons  and  Priests,  both  attended 
witli  circumstances  with  which  your  Grace  should  be  informed, 
and  which  1  trust  will  not  be  uninteresting  to  you.  The  sub- 
jects of  both  were  missionaries  in  the  employ  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society.  Three  of  them,  (Mr.  Reichardt,  a  na» 
tive  of  Germany,  and  a  young  man  of  very  respectable  attain- 
ments both  in  the  classics,  divinity,  and  Hebrew,  Mr.  Bow- 
ley,  the  son  of  an  European,  but  born  in  this  country,  in  the 
language  of  which  he  is  a  proficient,  and  Abdul  Musseeh,  a 
venerable  old  man,  a  native  of  Lucknow,  and  an  elegant  Per- 
sian and  Hindoostanee  scholar,)  had  some  years  ago  received 
Lutheran  ordination,  and  officiated  as  Ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel. They  had  for  some  time,  however,  been  anxious  to  ob- 
tain what  they  regarded  as  a  more  apostolic  commission,  and 
Mr.  Bowley  and  Abdul  Musseeh  had  been  confirmed  in  their 
views  by  some  conversation  which  I  had  with  them  at  Chunar 
and  Agra  in  my  journey  through  Northern  Hindostan.  Mr. 
Reichardt  appeared  to  have  very  carefully  studied  the  subject, 
and  they  had  none  of  them  any  discoverable  motives  for  their 
wish  but  such  as  reflected  honour  both  on  themselves  and  the 
Church  of  England. 

With  this  persuasion,  and  in  consideration  of  the  office 
which  they  had  already  filled  as  preachers  of  the  Gospel,  as 
well  as  the  great  distance  which  Abdul  Musseeh  and  Mr.  Bow- 
ley  had  travelled,  the  former  little  less  than  800  miles,  to  re- 
ceive the  sacred  rite,  I  used  the  same  freedom  which  I  had 
done  in  the  case  of  Christian  David,  in  ordaining  them  Priests 
as  well  as  Deacons,  with  the  intervention  of  a  month  only  be- 
tween the  ceremonies.  Abdul  Musseeh  not  understanding 
English,  the  service  was  translated  into  Hindoostanee  by 
Archdeacon  Corrie,  under  the  able  revision  of  Principal  Mill 
and  my  chaplain,  Mr.  Robinson.  Abdul  Musseeh  read  the 
Gospel  in  that  language,  and  greatly  impressed  us  all,  both  in 
that  and  his  answers,  with  his  deep  apparent  emotion,  his  fine 
voice  and  elegant  pronunciation,  as  well  as  his  majestic  coun- 
tenance and  long  whire  beard. 

He  has  since  returned  to  his  flock  at  Agra,  where  he  has  a 
little  Christian  parish  of  twenty  or  thirty  families,  besides 


342  CORRESPONDENCE. 

many  hundred  occasional  hearers  in  the  neighbouring  cities 
and  villages.  I  also  admitted  to  Deacon's  orders,  a  well-de- 
serving and  well-educated  young  man,  named  Adiington,  a 
catechist  likewise  in  the  employ  of  the  Church  Missionary* 
Society,  on  whom  I  hope  to  confer  the  Priesthood  next'  au- 
tumn. By  that  time  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wimberly,  (one  of  the 
Company's  chaplains,  but  as  yet  a  Deacon  only,)  will  be  also 
qualified  to  become  a  candidate. 

I  believe  I  mentioned  to  your  Grace  in  my  last  letter  the 
sort  of  amicable  intercourse  which  I  had  maintained  with  dif- 
ferent sects  of  Oriental  Christians,  and  particularly  with  some 
Bishops  of  the  Armenian  church.  One  of  these  whom  I  had 
previously  met  at  Dacca,  Mar  Abraham,  a  suffragan  depend- 
ant on  the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  was  much  with  me,  and 
still  more,  I  think,  at  Bishop's  college,  during  my  late  resi- 
dence at  Calcutta.  He,  like  the  Syrian  Metropolitan,  attend- 
ed service  in  the  cathedral,  and  1  was  happy  to  be  able  on 
different  occasions  to  treat  him  with  respect  and  hospitality. 
His  sect,  (I  need  not  inform  your  Grace,)  is  Monophysite, 
and  the  Liturgy  of  his  Church  grievously  crowded  with  super- 
stitious observances,  approaching  to  those  of  the  Roman  ritual. 
They  disclaim,  however,  earnestly,  the  Pope  and  some  of  the 
distinguished  tenets  of  Popery,  and  both  my  friend  Mar  Abra- 
ham, and  some  others  of  his  nation,  express  a  great  admira- 
tion of  our  Liturgy,  and  a  desire,  (which  I  think  claims  all 
the  encouragement  in  our  power,)  to  draw  near  us,  and  learn 
from  us.  One  of  their  nation,  named  George  Avdal,  has 
offered  his  services  to  Bishop's  College,  to  translate  our 
Liturgy  into  Armenian,  to  which  may  be  prefixed,  if  God 
gives  me  health  and  leisure  to  finish  it,  a  short  account  which 
I  am  drawing  up  of  the  foundation,  reformation,  and  history 
of  the  English  church,  which,  I  am  led  to  believe,  may  do  us 
great  service  among  the  eastern  Christians,  and  may  be  ad- 
vantageously circulated,  not  only  in  Armenian,  but  the  other 
languages  of  Asia.  And  if  Mr.  Avdal  does  his  work  well,  I 
think  of  employing  him  still  further  in  rendering  into  that 
language  some  of  the  Homilies  of  St.  Chrysostom,  and  of  such 
other  Fathers,as  the  eastern  Church  hold  in  most  honour,  but 
of  whom,  except  by  name,  they  know  nothing.  By  such 
means,  duly  persevered  in,  and  practised  with  meekness,  and 
without  the  appearance  of  dictation  or  superiority,  it  may  be 
hoped,  under  the  Divine  Blessing,  that  some  of  the  grosser 
ignorance  may  be  removed,  and  some  of  the  more  crying 
abuses  reformed,  which  have  for  many  centuries,  overspread 
the  most  ancient  and  illustrious  sects  of  Christianity.  Bishop 
Abraham  complained,  with  much  feeling,  that  almost  all  the 
books  of  devotion  or  instruction  which  the  Armenian  nation 


CORRESPONDENCE.  34S 

possess,  are  printed  at  Venice,  and  in  many  instances  inicv' 
polated  there;  and  he  seemed  extremely  well  disposed  to  re- 
commend to  his  Patriarch  a  plan  which  I  suggested,  of  obtain- 
ing such  works  in  future  from  the  press  of  Bishop's  College. 
It  is  my  purpose  to  write  on  this,  and  other  similar  subjects, 
to  the  Societies  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  and  pro- 
moting Christian  Knowledge,  and  I  trust  that  we  shall  have 
some  assistance  from  them  in  carrying  these  measures  into 
execution. 

Bishop  Abraham  evinced,  on  leaving  Calcutta,  his  confi- 
dence in  myself  and  Principal  Mill  in  a  yet  more  remarkable 
manner,  in  committing  to  my  care,  for  education  at  Bishop's 
College,  a  very  pleasing  young  man,  a  Deacon  of  his  church, 
and  related  to  himself,  who  had  attended  him  from  Palestine. 
He  said  that  the  Armenian  church  felt  the  want  of  a  more  li- 
beral education  than  they  could  usually  obtain  for  their  clergy; 
that,  in  particular,  a  knowledge  of  the  English  language  and 
literature  Would  be  very  valuable  to  them,  and  that  this  young 
man,  who,  having  good  talents,  and  powerful  interest,  was 
likely  to  be  called  eventually,  to  a  conspicuous  station  in  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem,  was  exceedingly  anxious  to  learn  any 
thing  which  we  might  have  to  teach.  He  professed  a  willing- 
ness to  pay,  to  the  best  of  his  power,  towards  the  expense  of 
his  remaining  with  us,  but,  well  knowing  his  poverty,  I  told 
him  that  was  needless.  I  have  accordingly  arranged  with 
the  Principal  and  College  Council,  to  receive  "  Mesrop  Da- 
vid" on  the  same  terms  of  inmate  and  guest  on  which  Chris- 
tian David,  the  Tamul  clergyman,  was  received  on  a  former 
occasion.  They  agreed  with  me  that  it  was  an  opportunity 
not  to  be  lost,  of  improving  and  extending  the  influence  of  our 
Church  among  his  countrymen,  and  should  the  Society  for 
Promoting  Christianity  in  Foreign  Parts  object  to  his  being 
supported  at  the  college  expense,  I  will  most  cheerfully  take 
it  on  myself. 

From  Ceylon  I  have  heard  actually  nothing  which  can  be 
regarded  as  authentic,  since  I  last  addressed  your  Grace,  and 
the  continued  silence  of  the  acting  Archdeacon,  the  non-ap- 
pearance of  the  Tamul  and  Cingalese  teachers  expected  by 
the  college,  and  the  unpleasant  reports  which  have  reached 
me  from  other  quarters,  are  calculated  to  give  me  much  dis- 
quietude respecting  the  success  of  the  plans  on  which  I  had 
built  so  much,  and  which  I  detailed  to  your  Grace,  I  fear, 
with  too  much  exultation. 

At  Bombay  one  of  the  chaplains,  whose  conduct  and  cha- 
racter have,  on  many  previous  occasions,  given  me  great  un- 
easiness, has  been  attending  a  conference  of  American  Inde- 
pendent Missionaries,  and  receiving  the  sacrament  at  their 

29* 


344  CORRESPONDENCE. 

hands.  Admonition  from  me  I  have  no  reason  to  suppose 
does  him  any  good,  and  I  have  found  to  my  surprise,  no  pro- 
vision for  the  punishment  of  this  open  and  daring  schism  in 
any  of  the  canons,  nor  in  any  of  the  few  books  on  ecclesiasti- 
cal law  which  are  within  my  reach.  May  I  request  your 
Grace  at  your  leisure,  to  favour  me  with  your  opinion  and  in- 
structions on  the  subject? 

*  -*  *  *  *  »  * 

I  remain,  my  dear  Lord, 

with  much  respect  and  regard. 
Your  Grace's  much  obliged  and  faithful 
Servant  and  Suffragan, 
Reginald  Calcutta. 

I  forgot  to  mention  to  your  Grace  that  I  have  heard  of  the 
arrival  of  the  Syrian  Metropolitan,  Mar  Athanasius,  in  Tra- 
vancore,  but  that  I  do  not  yet  know  whether  his  claims  have 
been  recognised  by  the  Malayalim  Church.  1  wrote  him,  some 
time  ago,  a  long  letter,  which  was  translated  for  me  into  Sy- 
riac  by  my  friends  Principal  Mill  and  Mr.  Robinson,  and 
Mar  Abraham  added  one  from  himself,  which,  as  coming  from 
an  Asiatic  and  Monophysite,  is  likely,  I  hope,  to  have  much 
weight  with  him.  In  it  he  encouraged  him  to  place  confidence 
in  the  friendly  disposition  of  the  English  Church,  and  caution- 
ed him,  very  earnestly,  against  the  arts  and  encroachments  of 
the  See  of  Rome  and  its  Clergy. 


TO  MRS.    HEBER. 

Madras,  February,  27,  1826. 
Dearest  Love, 

I  have  been  so  much  hurried  with  business,  that  I  have  only- 
just  time  to  save  the  dak.  I  am  very  well,  and  established  in 
a  very  comfortable  and  handsome  house  which  government 
have  taken  for  me.  We  had,  on  the  whole,  an  unpleasant,  as 
well  as  a  tedious  passage.  The  ship  is  a  fine  one,  and  well 
manned,  and  the  living  on  board  abundant  and  comfortable; 
but  she  was  so  much  out  of  trim,  owing  to  the  bad  arrange- 
ment of  her  cargo,  that  she  could  carry  very  little  sail,  and 
leant  over  on  one  side  so  strangely,  that,  had  bad  weather 
come  on,  it  would  have  fared  hardly  with  us.  The  captain  is 
altering  the  arrangements,  and  I  hope,  for  the  sake  of  all  con- 
cerned, that  this  may  prove  sufficient,  though,  as  the  ship  is 
also  leaky,  1  have  some  doubts.  We  had  much  sickness  on 
board;  one  poor  man  died  of  cholera,  and  was  committed  to 


CORRESPONDENCE.  345 

the  sea  a  few  hours  before  I  came  on  board.  A  woman  I  left 
not  likely  to  linger  more  than  a  day  or  two,  and  for  some  days 
back  had  been  insensible  or  nearly  so,  the  victim  of  long  ha- 
bits of  drunkenness,  and  unhappily  not  at  all  disposed  to  pro- 
fit by  the  advice  and  prayers  of  Mr.  Robinson  and  myself. 
From  most  of  the  other  invalids,  however,  and  from  the  sai- 
lors, we  meet  with  great  attention  and  gratitude.  A  poor  little 
baby  died  while  we  were  on  board,  and  I  buried  it,  the  first 
funeral  at  sea  which  I  have  seen.  I  thought  of  Southey's 
**  Oliver  Newman,"  when  the  coffin's  plunge  was  heard. 

The  mother  was  one  of  the  ladies  on  board,  a  Mrs.  S.  wife 
of  a  merchant  in  Calcutta,  going  home  with  her  infant,  on  ac- 
count of  her  own  ill  health:  her  distress  was  very  grievous  and 
affecting,  particularly  to  one  who  was  himself  a  father  and  a 
husband.  Though  almost  broken-hearted,  she  showed  a  Chris- 
tian temper,  prayed  for  resignation  very  earnestly  and  hum- 
bly, and  was,  I  think,  remarkably  supported  by  God  in  her 
own  utter  weakness  and  helplessness,  both  during  lier  child's 
sufferings,  which  were  very  severe,  and  after  his  death.  In 
the  former  case,  she  begged  me  earnestly  to  come  and  pray 
for  him,  which  of  course  I  did,  and  did  my  best  to  comfort 
her  afterwards.  It  has  ended  in  my  asking  her  to  occupy  a 
room  in  this  house  during  the  two  or  three  days  that  the  ves- 
sel's cargo  is  shifting,  when  no  sick  person  could,  with  toler- 
able comfort  remain  on  board,  and  she  was  not  able  to  get  a 
lodging  on  shore. 

Of  the  other  passengers,  one,  a  Lieutenant  Kenny,  is  a 
pleasing  and  gentlemanly  man,  going  home  in  a  miserable 
state,  covered  with  ulcers  from  head  to  foot,  the  effect  of  the 
Arracan  fever.     I  asked  him  also  on  shore,  but  he  could  not 

bear  going  through  the  surf,  or  even  being  moved  into  the  boat. 

*  *  ^  *  *  *  * 

The  surf,  when  I  landed,  was  very  moderate  to  what  I  expect- 
ed to  see,  though  it  would  liave  swamped  any  boat  but  those 
built  on  purpose.  I  breakfasted  this  morning  with  Sir  T. 
Munro;  he  was  very  kind,  and  expressed  regret  that  the  want 
of  accommodation  in  the  government  house,  prevented  his 
asking  me  there  during  my  stay.  In  the  course  of  my  conver- 
sation with  him,  I  saw  many  marks  of  strong  and  original  ta- 
lent. I  hope  to  commence  my  journey  on  the  13th.  It  will  be 
very  hot;  but  Sir  Thomas  Munro  tells  me,  that  if  I  avoid  the 
Monsoon  on  the  Travancore  coast,  I  may  perform  it  safely  and 
with  tolerable  comfort.  Be  assured,  dearest  love,  I  will  take 
care  of  myself,  and  run  no  needless  risks. 

Your  affectionate 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


346  CORRESPONDENCE. 


TO    MRS.    R.    HEBER. 

Madras,  March  7,  1825. 
My  dearest  Wife, 

I  enclose  you  a  letter  from  poor  Mrs.  S.,  my  late  fellow- 
passenger,  which  I  received  the  da}'^  after  she  left  this  house. 
The  case  she  tells  is  a  painful  and  interesting  one,  but  one 
which  I  cannot  assist,  so  far  as  I  can  perceive;  and  there  are 
others  who  have  far  stronger  claims  on  me,  than  a  deserving 
young  man,  of  whose  wife  I  know  very  little,  and  of  himself 
still  legs.  Nevertheless,  when  I  read  this  account  of  patient 
and  honourable  exertion,  battling  hard  with  adversity,  I  could 
not  help  feeling  very  strongly  my  own  unworthiness,  and  how 
deep  a  thankfulness  I  owe  to  God,  whose  mercy  has  thus  far 
protected  me,  and  those  most  dear  to  me,  from  the  state  of 
dependance,  privation,  and  anxiety  in  which  so  many  men, 
my  superiors  in  many  respects,  are  doomed  to  languish. 
Heaven  grant  that  1  may  hereafter  make  a  better  use  of  its 
blessings! 

I  was  much  pleased  to  bear  that  my  dear  wife  had  been 
busy  in  the  girls'  school.  You  will,  I  fear,  have  a  great  deal 
of  trouble  there;  but  I  am  sure  you  will  not  grudge  it.  I  have 
been  seeing  the  two  large  schools,  the  Male  and  Female  Or- 
phan Asylum,  in  which  Dr.  Bell  first  displayed  his  talents  for 
education.  The  former  is  very  flourishing,  under  the  inspec- 
tion of  the  senior  chaplain,  Mr.  Roy,  and  both  in  the  progress 
and  health  of  the  boys  is  superior  to  the  free  school  of  Cal- 
cutta. The  latter  is  but  ill-conducted  under  a  country  born 
female,  the  widow  of  a  missionary,  who,  though  a  worthy  sort 
of  woman,  has  not  talent  or  energy  for  her  situation.  I  have 
also  seen  a  magnificent  display  of  native  schools  and  native 
converts  at  Vepery,  under  the  care  of  two  Danes,  (Dr.  Rot- 
tier  and  Dr.  Haubroe,)  sent  out  by  the  Society  for  Promoting 
Christian  Knowledge.  The  girls  here  read  better,  and  hem 
quite  as  weM  as  those  under  Mrs.  Wilson's  care.  They  are 
chiefly  managed  by  Mrs.  Haubroe,  a  young  Dane  of  Tranque- 
bar,  who  seems  an  excellent  person. 

I  hold  my  confirmation  to  morrow,  and  am  promised  500 
candidates,  of  whom  about  150  will  be  Tamul;  my  visitation 
is  on  Friday. 

The  chaplains  here  are  a  remarkably  good  and  gentlemanly 
set,  and  I  am  greatly  impressed  with  reverence  for  the  worthy 
old  missionary  Dr.  Rottler.  The  weather  is  very  hot,  as  hot, 
they  say,  as  it  is  likely  to  be  here;  but  I  am  extremely  well. 
Nobody  could  be  kinder  or  more  considerate  than  both  Sir 


CORRESPONDENCE.  347 

Thomas  Munro  and  Mr.  Hill  have  shown  themselves.  They 
have  assigned  me  a  most  comfortable  set  of  tents, — assigned 
me,  (what  you  will  be  glad  to  hear,)  a  surgeon,  Mr.  Hyne, 
the  deputy  assay-master,  said  to  be  a  very  clever  and  agreea- 
ble man,  and  a  young  officer.  Captain  Harkness,  by  way  of 
guide,  and  to  command  the  escort,  who  knows  the  language 
and  country  of  Travancore  well,  besides  lending  me  two  sad- 
dle horses,  and  a  small  stock  of  plate,  my  own  being,  as  they 
tell  me,  insufficient  for  the  numbers  of  which  my  party  will 
now  consist.  All  this  consideration  is  so  much  the  kinder  in 
Sir  Thomas  Munro,  because  he  is  now  much  occupied  with  do- 
mestic distress.  Lady  Munro  being  about  to  return  to  England 
with  one  of  her  children,  who  is  ill.  Lady  Munro  is  a  very 
lovely  woman,  and  of  remarkably  pleasing  manners^  every 
body  here  seems  to  regret  most  honestly  her  going  away,  say- 
ing that  her  whole  conduct  has  been  made  up  of  good  manners, 
good  heart,  and  sound  solid  judgment.  I  do  not  know  that 
higher  praise  could  be  given  to  a  ''  Lady  Governess." 

I  set  out  on  Monday,  the  13th,  via  Trichinopoly,  &c.,  to 
Travancore.  I  nhall,  I  am  told,  find  it  very  hot,  but  with  care, 
shall  run  no  risk  in  point  of  health.  There  are  some  beautiful 
churches  here,  the  other  buildings  are  less  handsome  than  I 
expected  5  the  country  less  green  than  Bengal,  and  the  climate, 
at  this  season  at  least,  considerably  warmer.  Much  as  I  feel 
your  absence,  I  cannot  repent  of  having  left  you  behind.  No 
accommodations  are  to  be  obtained  in  the  Neelghurry  hills, 
and  to  take  children,   at  this  season,  through  Travancore, 

every  body  tells  me  would  be  madness. 

*  *  *  *'  -*■  *  * 

Poor  Dr.  Smith !.  I  was  shocked  to  hear  of  his  death,  and 
grieve  for  his  poor  widow.  Yes,  dearest,  I  am  sure  you  will 
show  her  all  kindness.  Adieu,  dear,  dear  love!  God  bless 
you  and  our  babes. 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO    MRS.     R.     HEBER. 

Camp  near  Mumbura,  fone  day's  march  from  Fondicherry,J 
March  16,  1826. 

I  have  had  little  or  no  time  to  keep  a  journal,  but  was  de- 
termined to  make  a  beginning  and  now  send  it  to  you.  I  am 
very  well,  and  am  travelling  comfortably  through  a  pretty 
country,  in  which  almost  every  thing  reininds  me  of  Ceylon, 
(I  mean  its  sea  coast.)  I  have  excellent  tents  and  horses,  and 
like  my  fellow  travellers  very  well.  Sir  T.  Munro  has  written 


348  CORRESPONDENCE. 

to  all  the  collectors  on  the  road,  to  assist  me  in  every  way, 
(as  was  done  by  the  government  of  Bengal  on  my  former  tour,) 
and  has  himself  taken  great  pains  to  settle  every  thing  for  me 
beforehand.  Captain  Harkness,  the  commander  of  the  escort, 
says  he  has  even  directions,  in  case  Mr.  Hyne  should  fall  ill, 
to  joress  the  first  surgeon  or  assistant-surgeon  whom  he  may 
find,  to  accompany  me  as  far  as  may  be  necessary.  The 
weather  is  about  as  hot  as  it  was  in  our  excursion  through  Sal- 
sette  with  Mr.  Elphinstone.  Love  to  my  dear  little  Emily, 
and  kiss  her  and  her  sister  for  their  affectionate  father. 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  THE  RIGHT  HONOURABLE  C.    W.  WILLIAMS  WYNN. 

Camp  near  Chillumhrum,  fCamatic,J  March  21,  1826, 
My  DEAR  Wynn, 

»  *  »  »  »  »  * 

There  were,  indeed,   several  reasons  which  rendered  my 
presence  here  extremely  desirable,  and  some  which,  as  bein^ 
characteristic  of  the  country,  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  you. 
You  are  aware  of  the  very  considerable  number,  (I  believe 
about  40,000,)  of  Protestant  Christians  in  different  parts  of 
this  Presidency,  the  spiritual  children  of  Schwartz  and  his 
successors,  and  all  now  in  union  with  the  Church  of  England. 
These  people,  however.  Christians  as  they  are,  have  preserved 
very  many  of  their  ancient  usages,  particularly  with  regard  to 
caste,  which,  both  here  and  in  Ceylon,  is  preserved   with  a 
fierceness  of  prejudice  which  I  have  rarely  witnessed  in  Ben- 
gal, and  which  divides  almost  as  perfectly  a  Soodra  from  a 
Pariah  Christian,  as  it  did  the  same  individuals  while  wor- 
shippers of  Vishnu  and  Siva.     The  old  school  of  missionaries  * 
tolerated  all  this  as  a  merely  civil  question  of  pedigree  and  * 
worldly  distinction,  and  in  the  hope  that,   as  their  converts 
became  more  enlightened,  such  distinctions  would  die  away. 
This  effect  has  not  followed 5  but  on  the  other  hand,  some  of 
the  younger  missionaries,  both  Germans  and  English,  have 
not  only  warmly  preached  against  caste,  but  in  the  manage- 
ment of  their  schools,  and  the  arrangement  of  their  congrega- 
tions, have  thwarted  it  as  much  as  possible.     They  have  even 
done  more;  having  interfered  with  many  ancient  forms  which 
are  used  by  these  people  in  their  marriage  ceremonies  and  do- 
mestic festivities,  and  which  they  conceive  to  be  Pagan,  while 
one  of  them  has  gone  so  far  as  by  way  of  punishment,  to  com- 
pel a  school-boy  of  high  caste  to  drink  water  from  the  cup  of  a 


CORRESPONDENCE.  349 

Pariah.  A  long  complaint  of  these  transactions,  written  in 
very  good  English,  and  with  a  long  row  of  signatures,  was 
sent  to  me  bj  the  Vepery  congregation  some  time  ago,  and  I 
have  now  many  similar  statements  from  different  persons  and 
congregations  of  the  South.  The  difficulty  will  be  to  ascer- 
tain how  far  the  feeling  of  caste  is  really  civil  and  not  reli- 
gious, and  how  far  the  other  practices  objected  to  are  really 
immoral  or  idolatrous.  On  these  topics  I  am  now  busily  mak- 
ing inquiry,  and  hope,  in  the  course  of  my  journey,  to  come 
at  the  truth  so  nearly  as  to  prevent  at  least  any  gross  scandal, 
without  entrenching  materially  on  what  I  conceive  the  natu- 
ral liberty  of  the  new  convert,  to  live  in  all  indifferent  things 
in  the  manner  which  he  himself  prefers,  and  which  his 
ancestors  have  preferred  before  him.  Both  parties  have  evi- 
dently been  to  blame,  and  both,  I  have  reason  to  hope,  have 
already  receded  something  in  their  pretensions.  The  high- 
caste  Indians,  for  instance,  had  made  one  most  abominable 
claim  to  have  a  separate  cup  for  the  Sacrament.  And  the 
Missionaries  appear  to  me  to  have  displayed  a  scarcely  less 
blameable  contempt  of  the  feeling  of  their  flocks,  and  a  sour 
and  narrow  hatred  of  every  thing  like  gaiety  and  amusement, 
when  displayed  under  any  other  forms  than  those  to  which 
they  Iiad  been  tliemselves  accustomed.  A  certain  crown  of 
flowers,  used  in  marriages,  has  been  denounced  to  me  as  a 
device  of  Satan. 

*  *  •;(^  .  *  *  *■  * 

And  a  gentleman  has  just  written  to  complain  that  the  Danish 
Government  of  Tranquebar  will  not  allow  him  to  excommu- 
nicate some  young  persons  for  wearing  masks,  and  acting,  as 
it  appears,  in  a  Christmas  mummery,  or,  at  least,  in  some 
private  rustic  theatricals.  If  this  be  heathenish,  heaven  help 
the  wicked !  But  I  hope  you  will  not  suspect  that  I  shall  lend 
any  countenance  to  this  kind  of  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  or  con- 
sent to  men's  consciences  being  burdened  with  restrictions  so 
foreign  to  the  cheerful  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  The  Protestants, 
however,  are  not  the  only  people  whose  diff*erences  I  have  to 
compose.  The  Malayalim,  or  Syro-jacobite  Churches  in  Tra- 
vancore,  are  also  in  a  flame^  and  I  am,  as  it  appears,  to  be 
their  umpire. 

You  are  aware  that  the  intercourse  of  these  churches  with 
the  Patriarchs  of  Antioch,  had,  for  many  years  back,  been  in- 
terrupted, partly  by  the  violent  measures  pursued  by  the  Por- 
tuguese, and  the  intrigues  of  the  missionaries  sent  out  by  the 
Propagandists,  and  still  more  by  the  poverty  of  the  Christians 
of  Travancore,  which  disabled  them  frjom  sending  messen- 
gers so  far,  or  paying  the  expenses  of  a  foreign  Metropolitan. 
Accordingly,  for  about  lifty  years,  the  jacobite  bishops  of 


350  CORRESPONDENCE. 

Travancore  have  been  all  people  of  the  country,  and  have  suc- 
ceeded each  other  by  a  sort  of  domestic  nomination,  each  pre- 
late soon  after  his  accession  to  the  See,  ordaining  a  coadjutor, 
"  cum  spe  successionis."  The  present  Metropolitan  is  named 
Philoxenus,  and  his  coadjutor,  who  for  several  years  past  has 
transacted  most  of  the  business  of  the  diocese,  is  named  Dio- 
nysius;  both  of  them,  the  former  particularly,  men  of  high  cha- 
racter, both  for  piety  and  that  sort  of  learning  which  is  to  be 
expected  in  an  eastern  monk.  Last  year,  however,  the  pub- 
lications respecting  these  people  in  Europe,  which,  by  the 
way,  are  said  to  be  marked,  (Buchanan's  more  particularly,) 
with  scandalous  exaggeration,  appear  to  have  become  known 
in  Syria,  and  to  have  attracted  the  notice  of  the  Patriarch  to 
this  remote  portion  of  his  flock,  and  two  Syrian  monks,  named 
Athanasius  and  Abraham,  with  the  titles  of  Metropolitan  and 
*'  Ramban,"  or  Archdeacon,  arrived  at  Bombay  whilst  I  was 
there,  on  their  way  to  the  Malayalim  Churches,  and  with  re- 
gular appointments  from  the  Patriarch,  "  sitting  in  tlie  seat 
of  Simon  Cephas,  w^hich  is  at  Antioch."  As  it  has  always 
been  my  endeavour  to  'conciliate  and  befriend  the  eastern 
Christians  who  find  their  way  into  India,  both  I  and  Arch- 
deacon Barnes  showed  them  all  the  respect  and  kindness  in 
our  power,  and  we  were  on  as  good  terms  as  people  could  be 
who  had  no  common  language,  the  strangers  speaking  only 
Arabic,  and  all  our  communication  being  filtered  through  an 
interpreter. 

They  attended  Church,  unasked,  and  received  the  Sacra- 
ment at  my  hands;  on  which  occasion  I  placed  the  Metropo- 
litan in  my  own  chair,  and  we  embraced  in  a  most  brotherly 
manner  at  the  church  door  after  service.  1  was  not  without  some 
fears  as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  new  and  old  Metropoli- 
tans might  adjust  their  claims,  but  thought  myself  bound  to 
furnish  Athanasius  with  a  small  viaticum  for  the  rest  of  his 
journey,  and  with  letters  of  reconjmendation  to  the  English 
missionaries  established  at  AUepee  and  Cotyam,  at  the  same 
time  that  I  advertised  them,  by  a  post  letter,  of  the  visitor 
they  had  to  expect,  and  gave  Athanasius  my  best  advice  as  to 
the  moderation  with  which  it  would  become  him,  under  actual 
circumstances,  to  advance  his  claims. 

The  missionaries  I  enjoined  most  earnestly  to  take  no  part, 
if  they  could  possibly  avoid  it,  in  any  disputes  which  might 
arise,  and  to  recognise  implicitly,  with  all  due  marks  of  respect 
and  confidence  whichever  Patriarch  the  majority  of  the  Ma- 
layalim Churches  might  receive.  How  far  either  party  has 
adhered  to  my  counsels,  I,  as  jet,  hardly  know.  The  mis- 
sionaries assert  that  Athanasius,  and,  still  more,  his  Ramban, 
have  been  mere  firebrands  in  the  country,  that  they  have  ex- 


CORRESPONDENCE.  351 

t:ommunicaled  both  Metropolitan  and  Coadjutor,  and  threat- 
ened them  with  personal  violence;  have  annulled  the  orders 
which  they  had  conferred,  dissolved  marriages,  altered  the 
interior  of  churches,  and  listened  to  no  advice  but  that  of  a 
certain  disaffected  *'Malpan,"  or  Doctor,  who  was  disap- 
pointed some  years  ago  in  his  hope  of  being  named  Coadjutor 
instead  of  Dionjsius.  On  the  other  hand,  Athanasius  has 
written  to  complain  bitterly  of  the  reception  which  he  has  met 
with  from  the  Metropolitans,  (whom  he  admits,  indeed,  "  that 
for  their  lies  and  sorceries  he  has  cursed  from  his  own  mouth, 
and  the  mouth  of  the  lioly  Patriarch,  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Prince  of  the  Apostles,  Simon  Cephas,"  &c.)  as  well  as  from 
^*  the  English  Priests,  of  whom  thou  spakest  unto  me,  and  the 
man  which  is  the  ruler  of  the  land,  even  Travancore,"  mean- 
ing, I  suppose,  either  the  Rannee's  minister,  or  the  English 
Resident.  At  the  same  time  complaint  has  been  made  to  me 
from  other  quarters  that  the  missionaries,  though  extremely 
well-meaning  and  correct  men,  have  really  been  too  much  in- 
fluenced by  their  natural  friendship  for  the  rival  Metropolitaa 
Philoxenus,  and  I  am  the  more  led  to  apprehend  that  something 
of  this  kind  has  occurred,  from  the  decided  tone  which  the 
Resident  and  Rannee  have  assumed,  forbidding  Athanasius 
to  exercise  his  functions,  though  acknowledged,  (as  I  am  as- 
sured,) by  the  great  majority  of  the  people,  and  threatening  to 
send  him  from  the  country.  This  last  measure  I  have  got 
suspended,  at  least  till  I  can  myself  try  my  hand  at  compos- 
ing the  difference,  or  at  ascertaining  the  real  wishes  of  the 
Malayalim  Church,  which  is  ,meanwhile  in  a  perfect  flame, 
but  which  has  expressed,  I  understand,  a  general  desire  that 
the  English  Bishop  should  settle  the  question. 

The  way  in  which  I  propose  to  do  it  is  by  assembling  a  ge- 
neral Synod  of  their  Clergy,  in  wliich  the  claims  of  the  rival 
Metropolitans  and  the  customs  of  their  Church  shall  be  openly 
discussed,  and  the  votes  given  by  ballot.  Vexatious  and  un- 
fortunate as  the  occasion  of  such  an  assembly  will  be,  it  will 
be  to  myself  extremely  interesting  and  curious,  since  by  no 
other  means  could  I  have  hoped  to  become  so  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  this  most  ancient  and  interesting  Church,  which, 
corrupt  as  it  is  in  doctrine,  and  plunged  in  lamentable  igno- 
rance, appears  to  preserve  a  closer  resemblance  in  its  forms 
and  circumstances  of  society,  than  any  other  now  in  existence, 
to  the  Christian  world  in  the  third  and  fourth  century  after 
our  Saviour.  Meantime  I  am  visiting  the  principal  civil  and 
military  stations  by  nearly  the  same  course  which  Bishop 
Middleton  followed  in  the  year  1816,  hoping  to  reach  Tra- 
vancore  early  in  May,  and  to  return  to  Madras  bv  the  tract 

Vol.  II.— 30 


352  CORRESPONDENCE. 

which  he  did  not  visit,  of  Mysore,  Bungalore,  and  Arcot. 
The  country,  as  far  as  I  have  yet  advanced,  is,  (though  not 
generally  fertile,  and  almost  universally  flat,)  as  beautiful  as 
palms,  and  spreading  trees,  and  diligent  cultivation  can  make 
it,  and  the  ancient  Hindoo  temples,  though  inferior  in  taste 
to  the  magnificent  Mussulman  buildings  of  which  I  sent  you 
a  description  from  the  north-west  of  India,  are  in  size,  pic- 
turesque effect,  and  richness  of  carving,  far  above  any  thing 
which  I  had  expected  to  meet  with.  Here,  at  Chillumbrum, 
(a  town  halfway  between  Cuddalore  and  Tanjore,)  is  a  tem- 
ple of  Siva,  covering  with  its  quadrangles,  its  cloisters,  its 
''hall  of  eleven  hundred  columns,"  and  the  other  buildings 
which  surround  its  sanctuary,  a  space  of  ground,  I  am  per- 
suaded, more  than  equal  to  Christ  Church,  with  an  establish- 
ment, if  its  abbot  speaks  the  truth,  (who,  by  the  way,  strange 
as  it  may  seem,  is  himself  of  a  low  caste,)  of  no  fewer  than 
300  Brahmins.  The  place,  however,  which  though  of  compa- 
ratively insignificant  size,  has  interested  me  most  from  the 
association  with  which  it  is  connected,  is  Mahabalipoorum, 
"the  city  of  the  great  Bali,"  with  its  ruins  lashed  by  the  surf, 
and  the  romance  of  its  submarine  palaces. 

»  *  *  *  J^  ifr 

I  hope  some  day  to  find  time  for  a  more  elaborate  and  in- 
telligible view.  But,  indeed,  I  do  not  eat  the  bread  of  idle- 
ness in  this  country.  Since  my  arrival  at  Madras,  little  more  than 
three  weeks  ago,  I  have  preached  eleven  times,  (including  my 
visitation  charge,)  have  held  four  public  and  one  private  con- 
firmation, visited  five  schools,  attended  one  public  meeting, 
travelled  sixty  miles  in  a  palanqueen,  and  140  on  horseback, 
besides  a  pretty  voluminous  correspondence  with  government, 
different  missionaries  and  chaplains,  and  my  Syrian  brother 
Mar  Athanasius.  And  the  thermometer  this  day  stands  at 
ninety-eight  in  the  shade.  However  I  continue,  thank  God, 
on  the  whole,  to  enjoy  as  good  health  as  I  ever  did  in  Eng- 
land. Busy  as  I  am,  my  business  is  mostly  of  a  kind  which 
I  like,  and  which  accords  with  my  previous  studies.  The 
country,  the  objects,  and  the  people  round  me,  are  all  of  a 
kind  to  stimulate  and  repay  curiosity  more  than  most  others 
in  the  worldj  and  though  there  are,  alas!  many  moments  in 
the  day,  (more  particularly  now  that  I  am  separated  from  my 
wife  and  children,)  in  which  I  feel  my  exile  painfully,  I  should 
be  very  ungrateful  indeed  if  I  did  not  own  myself  happy. 
Heaven  grant  that  I  may  not  be  useless!  When  at  Calcutta 
you  have  added  much  to  my  comfort  by  sending  Grey  there, 
who,  I  rejoice  to  say,  is  as  popular  as  he  deserves  to  be.  It 
happens  now,  remarkably,  that  all  the  three  chief  justices  were 
my  contemporaries  at  Oxford,  and  that  I  have  always  been  on 


CORRESPONDENCE.  353 

terms  of  friendly  intercourse  with  all,  though  Grey  was  the 
only  one  with  whom  I  was  intimate. 

v^  >^  vir  ^  ^  ^ 

* 

Lord  Combermere,  during  his  stay  in  Calcutta,  was  a  great 
accession  to  our  circle,  and  I  really  believe  you  could  have 
found  no  person  better  suited  to  play  the  very  difficult  and 
important  task  which  was  placed  in  his  hands,  from  his  good 
sense,  his  readiness  in  despatch  of  business,  and  his  accessi- 
bility, which  had  gone  far  to  gain  him  the  good  will  of  the 
Company's  army,  even  before  his  success  at  Bhurtpoor;  .  . 
.  .  .  He  appears  at  present  to  enjoy  a  higher  reputation 
than  any  Commander  in  Chief  since  Lord  Cornwallis,  or  any 

officer  who  has  appeared  in  India,  except  Sir  A.  Wellesley. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

It  is  really  strange  how  much  importance  has  been  attached 
to  the  fortress  of  Bhurtpoor.  Even  in  the  Carnatic,  Sir  Tho- 
mas Munro  tells  me,  that  the  native  princes  would  not  be- 
lieve that  it  ever  could  be  taken,  or  that  the  Jats  were  not 
destined  to  be  the  rallying  point  of  India,  as  they  certainly 
are,  by  the  little  which  I  saw  of  them,  among  its  finest  races. 
I  regret  now  I  did  not  visit  Bhurtpoor.  I  was  within  one 
march,  and  corresponded  with  the  Raja,  but  was  too  anxious 
to  reach  Jyepoor,  to  accept  his  invitation. 

Sir  T.  Munro  is  a  man  of  very  considerable  talent,  and  is- 
universally  respected  and  esteemed  by  all  whom  I  have  yet 
heard  speak  of  him;  individually,  I  have  received  much  kind- 
ness from  him. 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO    THE    REV.     CHARLES    SHIPLEY. 

Tanjore,  March  28,  1826. 
My  dear  Charles, 

;k  iff  -f^  '^  '■^  fi 

I  am  again,  alas,  separated  for  several  months  from  my  dear 
wife  and  children,  having  been  obliged  to  undertake  the  visita- 
tion of  southern  India,  in  a  season  when  it  is  dangerous  for 
any  but  the  robust  and  hardy  to  travel.  The  heat  is  indeed 
already  considerable,  and  must  be,  ere  many  weeks  are  over, 
much  greater.  I  sun  well,  however,  and  am  very  closely  and 
interestingly  occupied  in  the  visitation  of  the  missions  under 
the  patronage  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Know- 
ledge, the  success  of  which,  since  the  time  of  the  excellent 
Schwartz,  has  been  far  greater  than  is  generally  known  or 
supposed  in  Europe.     On  Easter-day  I  confirmed  seventy, 


354  CORRESPONDENCE. 

and  administered  the  sacrament  to  nearly  200  natives,  and  in 
the  evening,  \vhen  the  service  was  in  Tamul,  I  pronounced 
the  benediction  in  that  language  on  above  ISOO.  The  differ- 
ence of  numbers  will  be  easily  accounted  for;  since,  in  the 
former  instance,  few  attended  but  those  who  understood  a  lit- 
tle English,  the  rest  having  attended  the  ministry  of  one  of 
the  missionaries  early  in  the  morning.  This,  however,  is  only 
in  the  city  of  Tanjore.  There  are  scattered  congregations,  to 
the  number  of  many  thousand  Protestant  Christians,  in  all  the 
neighbouring  cities  and  villages;  and  the  wicker-bound  graves, 
each  distinguished  by  a  little  cross  of  cane,  of  the  poor  people 
by  the  road  side,  are  enough  to  tell  even  the  most  careless 
traveller,  that  the  country  is,  in  a  great  measure,  Christian. 
The  missions,  however,  are  in  a  state  which  requires  much 
help  and  restoration;  their  funds,  which  were  considerable, 
have  been  sadly  dilapidated  since  the  time  of  Schwartz,  by 
the  pious  men,  (but  quite  ignorant  of  the  world,)  who  have 
succeeded  him,  and  though  1  find  great  piety  and  good-will,  I 
could  wish  a  little  more  energy  in  their  proceedings  at  present. 
I  heartily  wish  I  could  stay  here  a  month  or  six  weeks, 
every  hour  of  which  time  might  be  usefully  and  profitably  em- 
ployed. My  time,  however,  is  very  limited,  and  I  must  press 
on  to  Travancore  before  the  south-west  monsoon  shall  have 
made  travelling  on  the  Malabar  coast  impossible. 

*  iv  *  *  *  *  ^ 

Thence,  I  hope,  after  visting  Calicut  and  Cannanore,  to 
return  by  Seringapatam  to  Madras,  and  thence  to  Calcutta. 
Believe  me  ever  your's  affectionately, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


TO  R.    WILMOT  HORTON,   ESQ. 

Trichinopolyy  April  1,  1826^ 
My  dear  Wilmot, 

«  »  «  «  *  ex 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

I  have  been  passing  the  last  four  days  in  the  society  of  a 
Hindoo  Prince,  the  Rajah  of  Tanjore,  who  quotes  Fourcroy, 
Lavoisier,  Linnaeus,  and  Buffon  fluently,  has  formed  a  more 
accurate  judgment  of  the  poetical  merits  of  Shaks])eare  than 
that  so  felicitously  expressed  by  Lord  Byron,  and  has  actu- 
ally emitted  English  poetry  very  superior  indeed  to  Rous- 
seau's epitaph  on  Shenstone,  at  the  same  time  that  he  is  much 
respected  by  the  English  officers  in  his  neighbourhood  as  a  real 
good  judge  of  a  horse,  and  a  cool,  bold,  and  deadly  shot  at  a 


CORRESPONDENCE.  355 

tyger.  The  truth  is  that  he  is  an  extraordinary  man,  who 
naving  in  early  youth  received  such  an  education  as  old 
Schwartz,  the  celebrated  missionary,  could  give  him,  has  ever 
since  continued,  in  the  midst  of  many  disadvantages,  to  pre- 
serve his  taste  for,  and  extend  his  knowledge  of  European 
literature,  while  he  has  never  neglected  the  active  exercises 
and  frank  soldierly  bearing  which  become  the  descendant  of 
the  old  Maharatta  conquerors,  and  by  which  only,  in  the  pre- 
sent state  of  things,  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  gratify  the  preju- 
dices of  his  people,  and  prolong  his  popularity  among  them. 
Had  he  lived  in  the  days  of  Hyder,  he  would  have  been  a  for- 
midable ally  or  enemy,  for  he  is,  by  the  testimony  of  all  his 
neighbourhood,  frugal,  bold,  popular,  and  insinuating.  At 
present,  with  less  power  than  an  English  nobleman,  he  holds 
his  head  high,  and  appears  contented,  and  the  print  of  Buona- 
parte, which  hangs  in  his  library,  is  so  neutralized  by  that  of 
Lord  Hastings  in  full  costume,  that  it  can  do  no  harm  to  any 

body To  finish  the  portrait  of  Maha  Raja 

Sarbojee,  I  should  tell  you  that  he  is  a  strong-built  and  very 
handsome  middle-aged  man,  with  eyes  and  nose  like  a  fine 
hawk,  and  very  bushy  gray  mustachios,  generally  splendidly 
dressed,  but  with  no  effeminacy  of  ornament,  and  looking  and 
talking  more  like  a  favourable  specimen  of  a  French  general 
officer,  than  any  other  object  of  comparison  which  occurs  to 
me.  His  son.  Raja  Sewajee,  (so  named  after  their  great  an- 
cestor,) is  a  pale,  sickly-looking  lad  of  seventeen,  who  also 
speaks  English  but  imperfectly,  and  on  whose  account  his  fa- 
ther lamented,  with  much  apparent  concern,  the  impossibility 
which  he  found  of  obtaining  any  tolerable  instruction  in  Tan- 
jore.  I  was  moved  at  this,  and  offered  to  take  him  in  my 
present  tour,  and  afterwards  to  Calcutta,  where  he  might  have 
apartments  in  my  house,  and  be  introduced  into  good  English 
society 5  at  the  same  time  that  I  would  superintend  his  studies, 
and  procure  for  him  the  best  masters  which  India  affords.  The 
father  and  son,  in  different  ways,  the  one  catching  at  the  idea 
with  great  eagerness,  the  other  as  if  he  were  afraid  to  say  all 
he  wished,  seemed  both  very  well  pleased  with  the  proposal. 
Both,  however,  on  consulting  together,  expressed  a  doubt  of 
the  mother's  concurrence,  and  accordingly,  next  day,  I  had  a 
very  civil  message  through  the  Resident,  that  the  Rannee  had 
already  lost  two  sons,  that  this  survivor  was  a  sickly  boy,  that 
she  was  sure  he  would  not  come  back  alive,  and  it  would  kill 
her  to  part  with  him,  but  that  all  the  family  joined  in  grati- 
tude, &c.  So  poor  Sewajee  must  chew  betel  and  sit  in  the 
zennanah,  and  pursue  the  other  amusetnents  of  the  common 
race  of  Hindoo  Princes,  till  he  is  gathered  to  those  heroic 
forms  who,  girded  with  long  swords,  with  hawks  on   their 

30* 


356  CORRESPONDENCE. 

wrists,  and  garments  like  those  of  the  king  of  spades,  (whose  por- 
trait painter,  as  1  guess,  lias  been  retained  bjthis  family,)  adorn 
the  principal  room  in  the  palace.  Sarbojee,  the  father,  has 
not  trusted  his  own  immortality  to  records  like  these.  He  has 
put  up  a  colossal  marble  statue  of  himself,  by  Flaxman,  in  one 
of  his  halls  of  audience,  and  his  figure  is  introduced  on  the 
monument,  also  by  Flaxman,  which  he  has  raised  in  the  Mis- 
sion Church  to  the  memory  of  his  tutor  Schwartz,  as  grasping 
the  hand  of  the  dying  saint,  and  receiving  his  blessing.* 

Of  Schwartz  and  his  fifty  years'  labour  among  the  heathens, 
the  extraordinary  influence  and  popularity  which  he  acquired, 
both  with  Mussulmans,  Hindoos,  and  contending  European 
governments,  I  need  give  j^ou  no  account,  except  that  my 
idea  of  him  has  been  raised  since  I  came  into  the  south  of  In- 
dia. 1  used  to  suspect  that  with  many  admirable  qualities, 
there  was  too  great  a  mixture  of  intrigue  in  his  character;  that 
he  was  too  much  of  a  political  prophet,  and  that  the  venera- 
tion which  the  heathen  paid  and  still  pay  him,  and  which  in- 
deed almost  regards  him  as  a  superior  being,  putting  crowns 
and  burning  lights  before  his  statue,  was  purchased  by  some 
unwarrantable  compromise  with  their  prejudices.  I  find  1 
was  quite  mistaken.  He  was  really  one  of  the  most  active 
and  fearless,  as  he  was  one, of  the  most  successful  missionaries 


*  The  Rev.  Mr.  Robinson  being  desirous  to  see  also  the  Christian  con- 
gregation at  Kanandagoody,  fifteen  miles  from  Tanjore,  and  his  High- 
ness the  Maha  Raja's  Chatteram,  went  to  that  place  on  the  15th  April. 
He  was  much  pleased  to  see  a  large  congregation  assembled,  and  after 
morning  prayers,  he  gave  a  kind  address  to  the  Christians,  animating  them 
to  be  thankful  to  God  for  his  great  mercies  showed  to  them.  The  cliapel 
at  this  place  is  a  decent  thatched  building.  It  is  also  used  as  a  school. 
Fifty  poor  children  of  the  Christians  ai'e  here  supported  by  the  bounty 
of  his  Highness,  but  instructed  at  the  expense  of  the  mission.  The 
houses  of  the  catechist  and  schoolmaster,  which  are  also  thatched, 
are  built  near  the  chapel.  From  Kanandagoody  he  went  to  his  High- 
ness's  Chatteram,  which  is  a  Hindoo  charitable  institution,  established 
by  the  present  Maha  Raja  of  Tanjore,  not  merely  for  the  maintenance 
of.brahmins,  but  for  the  poor  of  every  description.  This  charitable  in- . 
stitution  has  saved  many  hundreds  from  perishing  when  a  severe  famine 
and  the  cholera  prevailed  some  years  ago  in  the  Ramuad,  Shevagunga, 
and  Madura  districts.  A  circumstance  that  renders  this  institution  wor- 
thy of  notice  is,  that  there  is  a  charity  school  attached  to  it,  in  which 
children  are  instructed  in  the  Tamul,  Gentoo,  JMaharatta,  Sanscrit,  Per- 
sian, and  English  languages;  to  this  must  be  added  the  Christian  cha- 
rity school  at  Kanandagoody,  above  mentioned.  There  are  also  two 
hospitals  attached  to  the  charitable  institution,  one  for  men  and  one  for 
■women  suffering  from  sickness.  A  beautiful  bungalow  is  also  erected 
over  the  Chatteram  for  the  accommodation  of  gentlemen  and  other  Eu- 
ropeans going  to  the  southward  or  corning  from  thence. — Extract  from 
a  letter  from  the  Rev.  J.  C.  KvhL'Jf.     Ed. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  357 

who  have  appeared  since  the  Apostles.  To  say  that  he  was 
disinterested  in  regard  to  money,  is  nothing;  he  was  perfectly 
careless  of  power,  and  renown  never  seemed  to  affect  him, 
even  so  far  as  to  induce  even  an  outward  show  of  humility. 
His  temper  was  perfectly  simple,  open,  and  cheerful,  and  in 
his  political  negociations,  (employments  which  he  never  sought 
for,  but  which  fell  in  his  way,)  he  never  pretended  to  impar- 
tiality, but  acted  as  the  avowed,  though,  certainly  the  suc- 
cessful and  judicious  agent  of  the  orphan  prince  entrusted  to 
his  care,  and  from  attempting  whose  conversion  to  Christianity 
lie  seems  to  have  abstained  from  a  feeling  of  honour.  His 
other  converts  were  between  six  and  seven  thousand,  besides 
those  which  his  predecessors  and  companions  in  the  cause  had 
brought  over. 

The  number  is  gradually,  increasing,  and  there  are  now  in 
the  south  of  India  about  200  Protestant  congregations,  the 
numbers   of  which  have  been  sometimes  vaguely  stated  at 
40,000.     I  doubt  whether  they  reach  15,000,  but  even  this, 
all  things  considered,  is  a  great  number.     The  Roman  Catho- 
lics are  considerably  more  numerous,  but  belong  to  a  lower 
caste  of  Indian,  for  even  these  Christians  retain  many  preju- 
dices of  caste,  and  in  point  of  knowledge  and  morality,  are 
said  to  be  extremely  inferior.     This  inferiority,  as  injuring 
the  general  character  of  the  religion,  is  alleged  to  have  occa- 
sioned the  very  unfavourable  eye  with  which  all  native  Chris- 
tians have  been  regarded  in  the  Madras  government.     If  they 
have  not  actually  been  persecuted,  they  have  been  ''  disqua- 
lified," totidem  verbis^  from  holding  any  place  or  appointment, 
whether  civil  or  military,  under  the  Company's  government; 
and  that  in  districts  where,  while  the  native  princes  remained 
in  power.  Christians  were  employed  without  scruple.     Nor 
is  this  the  worst;  many  peasants  have  been  beaten,  by  autho- 
rity of  the  English  magistrates  for  refusing,  on  a  religious  ac- 
count, to  assist  in  drawing  the  chariots  of  the  idols  on  festival 
days;  and  it  is  only  the  present  Collector  of  Tanjore  who  has 
withheld  the  assistance  of  the  secular  arm  from  the  brahmins 
on  these  occasions.     The  con-ecjuetice  is,  the  brahmins,  being 
limited  to  voluntary  votaries,  have  now  often  very  hard  work 
to  speed  the  ponderous  wheels  of  Kali  and  Siva  through  the 
deep  lanes  of  this  fertile  country.     This  is,  however,  still  the 
most  favoured  land  of  brahminism,  and  the  temples  are  larger 
and  more  beautiful  than  any  which  I  have  seen  in  Northern 
India;  they  are  also  decidedly  older,  but  as  to  their  very  re- 
mote age,  I  am  still  incredulous. 

You  will  have  heard,  perhaps,  from  your  brother,  that  I  had 
the  pleasure  of  meeting  him  in  Ceylon.  That  country  might 
be  one  of  the  happiest,  as  it  is  one  of  the  loveliest  spots  in  the 


358  CORRESPONDENCE. 

universe,  if  some  of  the  old  Dutch  laws  were  done  away, 
among  which,  in  mj  judgment,  the  chief  are  the  monopoly  of 
cinnamon,  and  the  compulsory  labour  of  the  peasants  on  the 
high  roads,  and  in  other  species  of  corvees.  The  Candian 
provinces,  where  neither  of  these  exist,  seemed  to  me  the  most 

prosperous  parts  of  the  country. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

You  will  perceive  from  the  date  and  tenor  of  my  letter, 
that  I  am  again  on  my  visitation  tour  j  again  too,  I  am  grieved 
to  say,  separated  from  my  family.  Circumstances  had  de- 
tained me  so  late  at  Calcutta,  that  the  cool  season  was  quite 
spent,  and  it  would  have  been  tempting  Heaven  to  take  them 
with  me,  in  such  a  journey,  at  this  time  of  the  year.  It  is 
indeed  intensely  hot,  often  from  98  to  100  in  the  shades  but 
I  could  not  defer  it  to  another  year,  and.  I,  thank  God,  con- 
tinue quite  well,  though  some  of  my  companions  have  suffered, 
and  I  have  been  compelled  to  leave  my  surgeon  behind,  sick 
at  Tanjore.*  My  chaplain  I  feared,  yesterday,  must  have 
remained  there  also,  but  he  has  now  rallied.  I  am  compelled 
to  pass  on,  in  order  to  get  to  Travancore,  where  I  have  much 
curious  discussion  before  me  with  the  Syrian  Christians,  be- 
fore the  monsoon  renders  that  country  impassable.  This  I 
hope  to  accomplish,  but,  meantime,  the  hot  winds  are  growing 
very  oppressive,  and  must  be  much  worse  than  they  are  be- 
fore I  reach  Quilon.  The  hospitality,  however,  of  Europeans 
in  India,  assures  me  of  house-room  at  all  the  principal  sta- 
tions, so  that  there  are  not,  I  think,  above  200  miles  over 

which  we  must  trust  to  the  shelter  of  tents  alone. 

****** 

Ever  your  obliged  and  affectionate  friend, 

Reginald  Calcutta. 


In  the  last  letter  which  the  Editor  received  from  the  Bi- 
shop is  the  following  passage,  in  closing  the  volume  with  which 
she  feels  that  she  discharges  a  duty  equally  to  him  and  to 
those  whose  claims,  if  he  had  been  spared,  he  would  himself  have 
brought  forward  in  a  more  formal  and  more  eflScient  manner. 

**  Will  it  be  believed,  that  while  the  Raja  kept  his  domi- 
nions, Christians  were  eligible  to  all  the  different  offices  of 
state,  while  now,  there  is  an  order  of  government  against  their 

*  Mr.  Hyne  died  of  an  abscess  in  the  liver  the  4th  of  April. — Ed. 


CORRESPONDENCE.  359 

being  admitted  to  any  employment!*  Surely  we  are,  in  mat- 
ters of  religion,  the  most  lukewarm  and  cowardly  people  on 
the  face  of  the  earth.  I  mean  to  make  this,  and  some  other 
things  which  I  have  seen,  a  matter  of  formal  representation 
to  ail  the  three  governments  of  India,  and  to  the  Board  of 
Control." 

*  Extract  from  the  Regulations  of  the  Madras  Government. 

1816. 
Para  6. — The  Zillah  judges  shall  recommend  to  the  Provincial 
Courts  the  persons  whom  they  may  deem  fit  for  the  ofRce  of  District 
Moonsif;  but  no  person  shall  be  authorised  to  officiate  as  a  District 
Jloonsif,  without  the  previous  sanction  of  the  Provincial  Court,  nor  un- 
less he  he  of  the  Hindoo  or  Mahommedan  persuasion.  True  extract,  D> 
M.— Ed. 


APPENDIX. 


CIRCULAR  OF  MAR  IGNATIUS  GEORGIUS,  PATRIARCH  OF  AN- 
TIOCH,  TO  THE  BRITISH  AUTHORITIES  IN  INDIA,  RECOMMEND- 
ING TO  THEIR  PROTECTION  HIS  ENVOY,  MAR  ATHANASIUS. 

TO  THE   CHIEFS  OF  THE  BRITISH  NATION  IN  HINDOSTAN. 

* 

From  the  humble  Ignatius  Georgius  the  4th,  bj  the  mercy 
of  Almighty  God,  Patriarch  of  the  throne  of  Antake,  (Antioch,) 
the  apostolic,  the  holy,  over  the  Syrians  and  Jacobites  of 
Derah  Zefran,  and  the  rest  of  the  Nast. 


Salutation  to  the  most  holy  God,  the  Creator  of  bodies  and 
the  releaser  of  souls;  may  this  prayer  be  received  for  my  dear 
and  fortunate  friends  the  chiefs  of  the  countries  of  Hindostan, 
the  pure,  the  friends  of  God;  may  the  blessings  of  the  Al- 
mighty be  bestowed  on  them,  and  their  families,  and  descend- 
ants, and  on  those  who  are  united  with  them,  through  the  me- 
diation of  our  Lady  the  pure  Mary,  and  the  whole  army  of 
martyrs,  and  the  saints.     Amen ! 

Further,  the  cause  of  writing  these  lines  of  friendship  and 
blessing  is,  in  the  first  place  to  enquire  after  your  affairs,  and 
to  acquaint  you  that  I  am  constantly  thinking  of  you,  more- 
over we  have  sent  to  wait  on  you  our  fortunate  children,  viz. 
Matran  Abadool  Museeha,  and  the  Casis  Ishaac,  and  Casis 
Abdulahud,  and  Casis  Bushara,  deputed  to  our  Syrian  Jaco- 
bite children  who  are  with  you,  and  are  beneath  the  shadow  of 
God,  and  the  shadow  of  your  power,  for  the  completion  of 
several  affairs  which  are  wanting.  Now,  our  request  of  your 
magnanimity  is,  that  on  their  arrival  in  your  presence  you 


362  APPENDIX. 

may  be  pleased  to  cast  a  favourable  eye  on  them,  and  recom- 
mend them  to  the  care  and  attention  of  the  chiefs  of  whatever 
places  they  may  visit,  or  wherever  they  may  dwell,  for  they 
are  my  children,  and  are  unacquainted  with  tlie  customs  of 
that  country,  (India.)  And,  be  it  known  also,  that  what  be- 
longs to  you  belongs  to  us,  what  delights  us  delights  you,  and 
that  which  grieves  us  you  are  not  approving.  And,  praise  be 
to  God,  the  zeal  or  assistance  in  matters  of  religion  of  your 
exalted  nation,  the  British,  is  famous  in  all  parts,  more  espe- 
cially with  respect  to  our  tribe  of  vSyrians,  and  this  has  been 
the  case  from  times  of  old,  but  particularly  of  late  our  mutual 
friendship  has  been  increased.  We  beseech  God  that  this  may 
last  between  us  until  the  last  day.  For  these  reasons,  it  is 
not  necessary  that  we  should  appeal  more  at  length  to  you,  as 
your  wisdom  does  not  require  a  detailed  explanation.  What- 
ever protection  and  support  you  may  be  pleased  to  extend  to 
my  children  is  to  be  carried  to  the  account  of  my  weakness; 
and  that  which  you  have  vouchsafed  for  my  w^eakness  will  be 
taken  into  account  by  our  Lord  Jesus  the  Mighty,  who  will 
reward  you  on  my  behalf  with  innumerable  blessings  of  vast 
and  double  measure,  and  we  request  His  grace  and  favour  that 
He  may  favour  you  constantly  with  His  holy  blessings,  and 
may  protect  you  from  all  trials  both  ghostly  and  bodily,  and 
may  uphold  you,  and  make  easy  your  affairs,  and  grant  you 
your  desires,  and  break  the  force  of  your  enemies.  May  your 
souls  be  strengthened.  May  your  children  be  protected,  and 
may  He  open  the  gates  of  mercy  for  you,  and  may  He  increase 
His  favour  and  blessings,  and  His  gifts  on  all  of  you,  and  may 
He  grant  you  favour  and  prosperity  in  both  worlds,  peace  in 
this  world  and  life  everlasting. 

Favour  me  always  with  news  of  your  condition,  and  do  not 
reprehend  us  for  not  having  entered  your  name;  the  reason  is 
that  no  correspondence  has,  as  yet,  passed  between  us,  (we 
therefore  know  it  not.)  This  letter  was  proper  to  be  written 
on  account  of  your  friendship,  after  giving  you  our  blessings. 

[Written  29th  Tisreen2d,  A.  D.  1823.  Rubeeoosani  1239, 
Hejree.] 


TO  MAR  ATHANASIUS. 

[As  translated  into  Syriac  by  Messrs.  Robinson  and  Mill.] 

Calcutta,  December,  1824. 
To  the  excellent  and  learned  father  Mar  Athanasius,  Bi- 
shop and  Metropolitan  of  all  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  India, 


APPENDIX.  36S 

which  walk  after  the  rule  of  the  Syrians,  Mar  Reginald,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  Bishop  of  Calcutta;  grace,  mercy,  and 
peace,  from  God  the  Father,  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

I  have  earnestly  desired,  beloved  brother  in  the  Lord,  to 
hear  that  the  Lord  hath  prospered  thy  journey  from  Bombay, 
and  that  thou  farest  well,  and  art  in  good  health  in  the  land 
of  Malabar.  (I  hope  that  they  have  rejoiced  at  thy  com- 
ing even  as  they  rejoiced  at  the  coming  of  Mar  Basilius, 
Mar  Gregorius,  and  Mar  Johannes.)*  And  my  prayer  to 
God  for  thee  is,  that  even  as  He  led  Patriarch  Abra- 
ham from  his  country,  and  from  the  midst  of  his  kindred, 
through  faith,  to  a  strange  and  distant  land,  He  may  even 
thus  guide,  protect  and  prosper  thee,  and  give  thee  health  and 
grace,  and  every  good  gift,  and  increase  unto  thee  the  love  of 
thy  flock,  and  that  the  fruits  of  the  spirit  may  be  multiplied 
to  thee  from  them;  as  it  is  written,  '*  Commit  thy  way  unto 
the  Lord,  and  trust  in  Him,  and  He  shall  bring  it  to  pass." 

Especially  I  have  been  desirous  to  hear  from  thee  of  the  good 
estate  of  our  brethren,  the  faithful  in  Malabar,  the  Bishops, 
presbyters,  and  deacons;  and  also  of  my  own  children  in 
Christ,  the  English  presbyters  who  sojourn  among  you  at 
Cattaijam:  may  God  reward  you  according  to  your  kindness 
towards  them,  and  may  the  brotherly  affection  between  you 
and  them  be  daily  increased  and  strengthened! 

Furthermore,  I  make  known  to  thy  friendship  that  the  de- 
sire of  my  heart,  and  my  prayer  to  the  Lord,  is,  that  the  holy 
name  of  Jesus  may  be  yet  further  known  among  all  nations; 
and  also,  that  all  that  love  the  Lord  may  love  one  another,  to 
the  intent  that  they  which  are  without  may  behold  the  unity 
and  peace  that  is  among  you,  and  glorify  God  in  the  day  of 
visitation.  Like  as  was  the  desire  of  heart  and  prayer  to  God 
of  the  blessed  Thomas  Middleton,  who  fed  the  Church  of 
Christ  in  this  Episcopate  before  me,  whose  memory  is  blessed 
amono;  the  saints  of  Christ,  whether  thev  be  of  the  familv  of 
England  or  of  India;  but  they  are  not  two  families,  but  one, 
which  is  named  after  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  who  sitteth 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,  in  whom  all  nations,  tribes  and  lan- 
guages are  united,  and  shall  be  glorified  together. 

I  also  pray  thee  to  write  me  word  of  the  health  of  thyself 
and  all  that  are  with  thee,  likewise  of  the  health  of  my  own 
children,  the  presbyters  of  England,  and  what  is  their  conver- 
sation among  you. 

•  The  last  Syrian  Bishops,  (before  Mar  Athanasius  in  1825,)  wha 
went  to  rule  the  Church  in  Malabar,  in  1751;  itll  the  Metropolitans  after 
them,  (called  Mar  Dionysius,  or  Cyrillus,  or  Philoxenus  severally,) 
being  Indian  Bisliops  of  their  ordiiining". 

Vol.  IL—Sl 


364  APPENDIX. 

Furthermore,  I  hope,  if  the  Lord  will,  to  pass  to  the  cities 
of  Madras,  Tanjore,  and  Trichinopoly,  visiting  the  churches 
there  that  are  subject  to  me.  And  I  desire,  with  God's  plea- 
sure to  pass  on  thence  to  salute  thee,  mj  brother,  and  the 
churches  under  thee,  that  I  may  be  filled  with  joy  while  I  be- 
hold your  order,  and  am  a  participator  with  you  in  prayers. 
And  if  there  be  any  thing  more  which  I  have  not  written,  it 
may  be  told  when  I  come  to  thee,  for,  (the  daughter  of  the 
voice*  is  better  than  the  son  of  the  ink 5  and,)  it  is  a  good  time 
when  a  man  speaketh  face  to  face  with  his  friend. 

This  letter  is  sent  unto  thee  by  the  hand  of  a  learned  and 
faithful  English  presbyter,  John  Doran,  one  of  the  presbyters 
from  before  me,  who  proposeth,  if  thou  givest  leave,  to  so- 
journ in  Cottayam,  even  as  the  presbyters  Benjamin  Bayley, 
Joseph  Fenn,  and  Henry  Baker,  have  sojourned  until  now 
with  license  of  the  godly  Bishops  of  the  Church  of  Malabar  to 
teach  learning  and  piety  to  all  who  thirst  after  instruction, 
doing  good,  and  giving  no  cause  of  otfence.  And  I  beseech 
thee,  brother,  for  my  sake,  and  the  sake  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  that  thou  wouldst  receive  him  as  a  son  and  as  a  faithful 
servant  of  our  Lord,  who  is  alone,  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  most 
high  in  the  glory  of  God  the  Father^  to  Him,  therefore,  be  all 
honour  and  dominion  for  ever.     Amen. 

Moreover,  I  entreat  thee  brother,  tobeware  of  the  emissaries 
of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  whose  hands  have  been  dipped  in  the 
blood  of  the  Saints,  from  whose  tyranny  our  church  in  Eng- 
land hath  been  long  freed  by  the  blessing  of  God,  and  we 
hope  to  continue  in  that  freedom  for  ever;  of  whom  are  the 
Metropolitans  of  Goa,  the  Bishop  of  Cranganor,  and  he  at 
Verapoli,  who  have,  in  time  past,  done  the  Indian  Church 
much  evil.  (I  pray  that  those  of  thy  churches  in  Malabart 
who  are  yet  subject  to  these  men  may  arouse  themselves,  and 
be  delivered  from  their  hands.)  Howbeit  the  Lord  desireth 
not  the  death  of  a  sinner,  but  His  mercies  are  over  all  His 
works,  and  he  is  found  of  them  that  sought  him  not. 

Our  brother  Mar  Abraham,  a  Bishop  of  the  Armenian  nation, 
who  is  sent  from  his  Patriarch  at  Jerusalem,  (may  God  rescue 
his  holy  city  from  the  hands  of  the  Ishmaelites,)  salutes  thee. 
He  also  brings  a  letter  which  was  sent  by  his  hand  to  thee, 
from  the  Syrian  Patriarch  at  Jerusalem,  and  has  not  found 
means,  hitherto,  of  forwarding  it  to  thee  at  Malabar,  and  has 
therefore  requested  me  to  send  it  now  to  thee.  All  the  Church 

*  "  The  daughter  of  the  voice,"  in  Syrian,  means  no  more  than  a 
word.     It  is  a  very  unusual  expression  for  it. 

f  i.  e.  All  churches  of  the  Syro-Chaldaic  ritual,  one  half  of  which  are 
under  the  Romish  yoke  imposed  by  the  Synod  of  Diamper. 


APPENDIX.  365 

of  Christ  that  is  here  salute  thee.  Salute  in  my  name  thy 
brethren  Mar  Dionjsius,  and  Mar  Philoxenus,*  with  the 
presbyters  and  deacons.  (William  Mill,  and  Thomas  Ro- 
binson, presbyters,  that  write  this  epistle,  in  the  Lord  salute 
you.) 

The  blessing  of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost  be  with 
you  evermore.     Amen. 

(Signed)         Reginald,  Bishop. 

fBy  the  help  of  God  let  this  letter  go  to  the  region  of 
Written  \  Travancore,  to  the  city  of  Cottayam,  and  let  it  be 
also  in  <^  delivered  into  the  hands  of  the  grave  and  venera- 
Tamul  ble  Bishop  Mar  Athanasius,  Metropolitan  of  the 

I      Church  of  Malabar. 


LETTER  FROM  FATHER  ABRAHAM  OF  JERUSALEM,  (an  ENVOY 
SENT  WITH  VISITORIAL  POWERS,  BY  THE  ARMENIAN  PATRI- 
ARCH OF  ARARAT  TO  THE  EASTERN  CHURCHES  OF  THAT  NA- 
TION IN  INDIA,)  TO  MAR  ATHANASIUS  5  SENT  WITH  BISHOP 
HEBEr's    SYRIAC    letter,     BY    THE    HANDS    OF    MR.     DORAN- 

Jan.  6,  1826. 

Abraham,  a  servant  of  Jesus  Christ,  from  the  holy  see  of 
Jerusalem,  (appointed  Bishop  and  Nuncio,  on  a  spiritual  vi- 
sitation to  the  churches  of  the  Armenian  nation  in  the  East 
Indies,)  unto  our  beloved  brother  in  the  Lord,  the  Right 
Rev.  Mar  Athanasius,  Metropolitan  of  the  Assyrian  nation 
on  the  cbast  of  Malabar,  and  to  all  the  communicators  in  the 
true  religion  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  all  the  beloved  brethren 
attached  to  the  church,  sendeth  greeting: — 

Grace  be  unto  you,  and  peace  from  God  our  Father,  the 
Most  High;  and  from  our  blessed  Redeemer,  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  the  inspirer  Holy  Ghost! 

I  had  the  gratification  to  understand  from  our  most  beloved 
brother  in  the  Lord,  the  Right  Rev.  Reginald,  the  Lord  Bi- 
shop of  the  diocese  of  India,  (over  the  Christians  of  the  Esta- 
blished Church  of  England,)  the  good  ministry,  and  adherence 
to  the  charge  committed  unto  you  by  your  superior,  in  being 
overseer  to  the  flock  of  God,  for  whose  redemption's  sake  Je- 
sus died.  This  hath  afforded  me  the  greatest  pleasure,  and  I 
always  render  my  thanks  to  God  for  his  grace,  which  is  given 

•  The  Ex-metropolitan,  who  resigned  the  chair  to  the  last  Mar  Dior 
nysius,  and  now  lives  in  voluntary  retirement  at  Codangalongery,  or 
Anhur  in  the  North. 


356  APPENDIX, 

to  good  Christian  ministry  by  Jesus  Christ.  Permit  me  to  re- 
mind you,  ye  brethren  in  the  Lord,  that  according  to  Scrip- 
ture the  last  days  I  see  are  come,  when  many  false  prophets 
and  false  Christs  were  to  have  risen,  who  dissemble  in  sheep's 
clothing,  but  in  reality  are  wolves;  such  as  some  of  the  fol- 
lowers of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  are,  who  try  to  find 
access  unto  the  flocks,  (embodied  in  the  Church  of  Christ,) 
by  the  unity  of  faith  and  brotherly  love,  (through  the  triumph 
of  the  gospel,)  and  are  bent  upon  scattering  and  driving  them 
deep  into  the  pit  of  Satanical  transgressions  by  superstition 
and  idolatry;  and  for  the  sake  of  personal  ostentation  among 
men,  they  endeavour  to  bereave  and  deprive  the  true  believers 
from  the  glory  of  God;  wherefore,  be  ye  upon  your  guards, 
and  watch,  as  the  skilful  shepherd,  which  thou  art  represented,, 
according  to  the  Deaten  tract  of  the  heavenly  good  Shepherd; 
feed  and  watch  with  vigilance  over  the  flock  of  Christ  even  at 
the  cost  of  blood.  The  more  especially,  I  say,  for  the  unity 
of  faith  and  doctrine  handed  down  from  your  ancestors,  in 
union  with  the  orthodox  Church  of  Armenia,  of  which  you  are 
members,  and  the  Head  of  us  all  is  Christ  blessed  for  ever- 
more. 

It  is  rejoicing  to  observe,  that  we  are  in  expectation,  ac- 
cording to  the  word  of  the  Lord,  to  witness  the  end  of  the 
heathens,  which  seems  to  be  near  at  hand  through  the  propa- 
gation of  the  Gospel.  It  is  gratifying  for  me  to  observe  that 
the  most  part  of  India  is  blossomed  with  the  light  and  culti- 
vation of  the  diffusion  of  scripture,  through  the  indefatigable 
labours  of  our  beloved  brother  in  God,  the  most  pious  and  true 
preacher  of  the  word  of  God,  our  amiable  friend  the  Lord  Bi- 
shop of  Calcutta.  Moreover,  his  impartial  intercourse  with 
our  Church,  and  his  friendly  reception  of  us  in  the  English 
Church,  has  gladdened  us  beyond  the  power  of  the  auxiliary, 
pen  and  ink,  to  convey  fully  my  humble  sentiments  on  tliis 
subject.  It  is  truly  rejoicing  to  see  Christianity  thus  strength- 
ened without  any  distinction  to  sects  and  nations;  brotherly 
love  working  together;  one  Christian  with  another;  wherefore 
it  behoves  me  to  hail,  that  the  day  of  salvation  and  the  accept- 
able time  is  now  visible  in  our  age.  I  avail  myself,  in  so  rea- 
sonable a  time,  to  remind  you,  our  beloved  brother  in  the 
Lord,  of  the  ministry  thou  hast  received  from  God,  through 
the  grace  of  the  precious  Cross:  minister  thou  the  word  of  life 
unto  the  believers,  as  well  as  the  unbelievers  and  heathens,  at 
the  station  where  your  ministry  extends,  that  thou  mayest  be 
enabled  to  rescue  the  lost  from  the  jaws  of  Antichrist.  It  is 
the  bitterness  of  times  that  needs  the  sweetness  of  the  Holy 
Scripture  to  be  diffused,  that  the  fruits  may  prove  acceptable 
to  the  Almighty. 


j^jrrsuiM  JJXA.' 


Be  it  known  to  our  worthy  brother  in  the  Lord,  that,  dur- 
ing the  usual  course  of  my  communication  with  the  Holy  See 
of  Jerusalem,  I  had  the  honour  of  receiving  a  letter  of  blessing 
and  loving-kindness  from  the  Right  Revered  Father  in  God, 
the  Archbishop  of  the  Assyrian  Church,  at  the  Holy  Land,  to 
your  address,  which  would  have  afforded  me  the  greatest 
source  of  pleasure  to  hand  over  to  you  personallj^,  and  to  par- 
take, myself,  of  the  pleasure  of  your  brotherly  kindness,  and 
to  witness  your  good  ministry  of  the  Church  and  the  congre- 
gation committed  to  your  charge,  of  which  I  have  heard  so 
nappy  an  account  from  our  friend  and  brother,  the  Lord  Bi- 
shop of  Calcutta;  but  unfortunately  it  did  not  prosper  so;  for 
the  ship  on  board  of  which  I  was  a  passenger,  did  not  touch 
on  the  coast.  However  a  very  favourable  opportunity  occur- 
red, since  our  brother,  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  during 
his  conversation,  mentioned  to  me,  that  he  was  on  the  point 
of  forwarding  you  an  epistle  in  the  Syriac  language.  I  avail 
myself  of  that  opportunity  to  deliver  to  him  the  letter  to  your 
address,  (above  alluded  to,)  to  be  enclosed  in  it  at  the  same 
time,  and  am  much  obliged  for  the  brotherly  love  that  he  has 
done  so,  and  trust  to  God  it  will  reach  you  in  safety. 

I  had  written  these  few  lines  in  the  Armenian  language;  but 
thinking  perhaps  none  of  my  nation  might  happen  to  be  there, 
to  convey  my  brotherly  love  and  greeting  to  you;  and  none  of 
my  handful  nation  here  understanding  the  Syriac  language  to 
translate  it,  I  have  therefore  got  it  transcribed  into  English,  a 
language  generally  understood  all  over  India;  and  I  hope  you 
will  find  some  one  of  the  station  to  read  it  to  you. 

I  have  prepared  myself  to  go  on  board  an  Egyptian  vessel, 
named  Alib  Rohonang,  towards  the  Holy  Land;  should  it 
please  God  to  prosper  that  the  vessel  should  touch  at  Allepee, 
(as  I  am  given  to  understand,)  I  promise  myself  the  pleasure 
to  send  information  thence  to  you  and  the  brethren  of  the 
Church,  and  to  fulfil  my  heart's  desire. 

Our  brother,  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  joins  me  in  greet- 
ing you  and  the  brethren  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Both  the 
Armenian  and  English  Churches  of  Calcutta  salute  your 
Church.  All  the  brethren  of  both  our  Churches  greet  you,  and 
greet  ye  one  another  with  a  holy  kiss.  May  health  and  long 
life  attend  your  holy  ministry;  and  the  grace  and  pgace  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  love  of  God,  and  the  Communion 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  with  you  all.   Amen. 

Pray  for  me,  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  prosecute  my  course 
to  the  Holy  City  of  Jerusalem. 

The  salutation  and  prayer  of  me,  Abraham,  with  mine  own 
hand. 

Calcutta, 

31* 


3G8  APPENDIX. 


IHE    SECOND    LETTER    TO    MAR    ATHANASIUS. 

March  22,  1826. 

To  the  honoured  among  Bishops,  Mar  Athanasius,  Metro- 
politan of  the  Churches  of  India  which  follow  the  Syrian  con- 
fession, my  dear  brother  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  Reginald,  bj  Ds- 
Tine  permission,  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  wisheth  health,  peace, 
and  increase  of  prosperity  in  this  world  and  the  world  to  come. 
Amen! 

This  second  letter  I  write  unto  thee,  my  Brother  beloved  in 
the  Lord,  to  let  thee  know,  that  by  God's  mercy  I  have  reach- 
ed the  country  of  Madras,  whither  thy  letter,  which  arrived 
in  Calcutta  after  my  departure  thence,  hath  been  sent  after 
me.  I  was  comforted  to  learn  thy  safe  arrival  and  good  health 
among  the  churches  of  thy  people;  yet  I  have  much  grief  and 
heaviness  of  heart  to  hear  that  the  enemy  hath  sown  trouble 
between  thee  and  our  brethren  Philoxenus  and  Dionysiu&, 
which  in  time  past  had  guided  and  governed  the  churches  of 
Travaneore  in  their  desolation,  when  no  tidings  came  from 
Antioch  for  many  years,  and  the  people  of  the  Lord,  (but  for 
them  whom  God  raised  up  to  feed  his  flock,)  had  been  scat- 
tered on  the  mountains  as  sheep  having  no  shepherd.  Let  this, 
my  brother,  incline  thine  heart  to  show  them  favour,  and  may 
the  good  spirit  of  God  move  them  to  render  thee  all  worthy 
honour  and  obedience,  both  for  thine  own  sake,  and  his  that 
sent  thee ! 

Furthermore,  I  have  spoken  concerning  thy  business  to  the 
Most  Excellent  Governor  of  the  English  nation,  which  is  in 
thecity  of  Madras,  who  had  heard  divers  things  reported  against 
thee;  to  whom  I  said,  '•'Athanasius  is  my  brother,  and  while 
he  sojourned  in  Bombay,  appeared  himself  in  all  things  blame- 
less, and  of  a  truth,  he  brought  letters  with  him  from  the  ho- 
noured Father  in  Christ,  the  patriarch  of  Antioch;  perhaps  the 
things  are  not  true  which  are  reported;  why  then  should  he  be 
sent  away  from  the  land.^  And  now,  behold,  I  go  southward, 
even  to  Trichinopoly  and  Quilon;  it  may  be  that  1  shall  recon- 
cile him  to  his  brethren.  I  pray  thee  write  thus  much  to  the 
queen  of  Travaneore,  and  the  deputy  that  dwelleth  in  Quilon;" 
and  the  governor  has  written  as  I  desired.  Wherefore,  my 
honoured  brother,  when  I  come  into  your  borders,  as  by  the 
grace  of  God,  I  hope  in  forty  days  to  come  hither;  my  desire 
is  to  be  allowed  to  be  a  maker  of  peace  between  you,  not  as 
having  authority,  for  I  am  a  stranger  in  your  Church,  neither 
desire  to  rule  over  any  but  my  own  people:  not  as  having  wis- 
dom, for  I  would  gladly  learn  of  you  in  things  pertaining  to 
the  truth,  but  as  your  brother  in  the  Lord,  and  the  servant  of 


APPENDIX.  369 

the  Churches  of  Christ;  and  as  desiring,  like  Mordecai,  to 
speak  peace  to  all  the  children  of  God,  and  to  saj  unto  jou 
that  strive  together,  as  Moses  said  unto  the  Israelites,  **  Sirs, 
ye  are  brethren,  why  do  ye  wrong  one  to  another?"  But  my 
council  is,  that  all  the  Malpans  and  Catanars  of  the  Church, 
also  thou  thyself,  and  the  brethren  Philoxenus  and  Dionysius, 
should  come  together  to  meet  me  in  one  place,  evenatCotym, 
and  testify  unto  me  concerning  the  customs  of  the  Church, 
and  all  things  belonging  to  the  same;  and  that  all  men  may 
speak  their  mind  freely  and  without  fear,  I  will  bring  with 
me  learned  men,  who  speak  both  Arabic  and  the  language  of 
the  Malayalim,  (but  who  are  not  of  the  number  of  priests  sent 
heretofore  for  the  college  of  Cotym,)  and  I  can  hear  both 
what  is  said,  and  what  thou  desirest  to  speak  unto  me  in  se- 
cret; and  whereas  there  are  some  which  say  that  Philoxenus 
is  no  Bishop,  and  some  which  say  that  he  was  consecrated  by 
laying  on  of  hands  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  even  as  thou  wert, 
this  thing  may  be  enquired  of  at  the  mouth  of  many  witnesses, 
and  the  will  of  the  Church  be  made  known  w^homthey  choose 
to  obey.  And  in  the  mean  time,  my  Brother,  forasmuch  as  it 
hath  been  said  of  thee,  '  he  is  a  violent  man,  and  seeketh  to 
change  times  and  hours;'  let  me  pray  thee  to  be  patient,  if  in 
the  days  of  darkness  and  trouble  any  thing  have  been  done 
amiss,  awaiting  the  time  that  thy  power  shall  be  strengthened, 
and  the  Lord  shall  cause  all  thy  ways  to  prosper.  But  I  speak 
as  unto  the  wise.  Thou  knowest  that  the  priests  of  the  high 
places  were  not  at  once  cut  ofl'from  Israel;  how  much  less  those 
whom  a  Bishop  hath  ordained,  though  in  the  absence  and  with- 
out leave  from  Antioch.  Likewise,  in  the  days  of  King  Da- 
vid, Zadok  and  Abiathar,  were  both  high  priests  in  the  Ta- 
bernacle, though  the  true  priest,  having  Urimand  Thummim, 
was  Abiathar,  son  of  Abimilek,  only;  and  thus  it  may  be  that 
the  anointing  shall  be  on  thy  head,  and  the  government  shall 
be  on  thy  shoulders,  and  yet  the  place  of  honour  next  thee 
may  be  given  to  them  that  kept  the  flock  before  thy  coming. 
(But  of  these  things  we  may  discourse  together  when  there  is 
opportunity. )  And  further,  if  any  man  have  wronged  thee, 
speak  to  me  thereof  without  fear;  am  I  not  thy  brother?  even 
if  he  be  of  my  own  people,  as  far  as  I  have  power,  he  shall 
not  go  without  correction.  Salute  the  Bishops  Dionysius  and 
Philoxenus  in  my  name.  I  call  them  Bishops,  forasmuch  as 
they  have  been  so  reported  unto  me  by  divers  sure  tokens,  and 
I  trust  they  may  be  found  Bishops  indeed.  Salute  the  Rab- 
ban  Isaac,  thy  fellow  traveller  and  mine,  whom  I  met  at  Bom- 
bay. Satute  the  Malpans  and  Catanars.  The  priests,  Tho- 
mas Robinson  and  Jonn  Doran,  (concerning  whom  I  wrote 
unto  thee,)  salute  you.     Verily  John  was  sick  at  Madras, 


370  APPENDIX. 

wherefore  my  letter  was  not  hastened  on.  Nevertheless,  he 
is  now  restored,  by  God's  blessing,  and  is  with  me  on  my 
journey. 

The  abuna  Mar  Simeon,  the  Armenian,  who  was  with  us  at 
Bombay,  and  who  has  been  now  again  with  me  at  Madras,  sa- 
lutes you.  Grace  and  peace  be  with  you  all,  from  God  and 
our  Lord  Jesus! 

If  thou  hast  any  thing  to  write,  let  thy  letter  be  sent  unto 
me,  in  the  city  of  Palamcottah. 

Written  in  the  land  of  Coromandel,  nigh  unto  the  city  of 
Alumbura. 

(vSigned)  Reginald,  Bishop. 


LETTER   TO    MAR    PHILOXENUS. 

Sent  March  27,  1826. 

To  the  honoured  among  Bishops,  Philoxenus,  raised  up  of 
God  to  be  a  guide  and  shepherd  to  the  Churches  of  India 
which  hold  the  Syrian  confession,  Reginald,  by  Divine  per- 
mission, Bishop  of  Calcutta,  wisheth  health,  grace,  and  much 
prosperity  from  God  and  our  Lord  Jesus. 

I  have  heard  from  many  witnesses,  my  brother  beloved  in 
the  Lord,  of  the  works  which  thou  hast  wrought,  and  thy  deep 
tribulation,  and  labour  of  love  which  hath  been  shown  towards 
the  Church  of  Christ  among  the  Malayalims,  at  a  time  when 
no  tidings  came  from  the  Church  which  is  at  Antioch,  and 
there  were  manv  dangers  and  much  sorrow  without  and  with- 
in,  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left,  from  the  idolatrous  peo- 
ple and  the  false  brethren.  Likewise  how  thou  hast  made 
choice  of  a  wise  and  holy  man,  even  the  brother  Dionysius,  to 
judge  the  people  in  thy  room,  and  to  teach  them  the  pure  and 
certain  doctrine  of  the  Lord,  and  that  thou  hast  sealed  him  to 
the  work  by  the  laying  on  of  hands,  to  the  intent  that  the 
grace  which  was  given  thee  might  not  perish,  but  that  after 
thy  decease,  a  witness  of  the  truth  might  not  be  wanting  in 
Israel,  until  the  time  that  the  Lord  of  the  vineyard  shall  re- 
turn to  reckon  with  his  servants. 

Which  thing  also  was  made  known  to  the  blessed  Father  in 
God,  Thomas  Middleton,  who  before  my  weakness  came 
hither,  was  Bishop  of  Calcutta  and  the  Churches  of  the  English 
in  India,  who  beneld  also  your  order  and  the  grace  of  God 
which  was  among  you,  and  was  glad,  and  spake  thereof  unto 
all  the  chief  of  our  nation.  Insomuch  that  in  the  land  of  Fe- 
ringistan,  which  is  Chittim,  and  Ashkenaz,  and  Gomer,  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  was  made  known,  not  there  only,  but  in 


APPENDIX.  371 

Britain  also,  which  is  our  own  land;  where  the  blessed  Apostle 
Paul,  after  he  had  been  in  Spain,  in  times  past  preached  the 
Gospel,  even  as  the  Apostle  Thomas  did  with  you,  whose 
memory  is  at  this  day  blessed  among  the  Churches  of  India. 

For  which  cause  also,  the  holy  Father  in  Christ,  the  Patri- 
arch of  Antioch,  having  heard  of  your  love  and  the  truth  and 
patience  of  your  brethren,  sent  our  brother  Athanasius  to  carry 
his  letters  to  you,  and  to  testify  unto  you  all  the  things  which 
were  in  his  heart  as  a  faithful  Bishop  and  Evangelist;  at  whose 
coming,  when  I  heard  the  same  in  Bombay,  my  heart  greatly 
rejoiced,  hoping  that,  by  communication  with  him,  yourself 
and  your  flock  might  be  the  more  established  in  faith,  and  that 
love  might  increase  more  exceedingly  with  all  knowledge. 
Whence  then  is  it  my  brethren,  that  there  are  wars  and  en- 
vyings  among  you?  God  is  a  God  of  peace,  not  of  division; 
a  God  of  order,  not  of  disorder;  and  by  all  these  things  the 
name  of  Christ  is  blasphemed  among  the  Gentile,  and  the  souls 
of  many  shall  be  turned  into  perilous  heresies;  such  as  are  taught 
by  the  priests  of  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  which  are  in  Cranganore 
and  Verapoli,  from  whom,  in  time  past,  great  sorrow  hath  arisen 
to  this  people.  Let  me  intreat  you  then,  my  brethren,  on 
Christ's  behalf,  that  you  be  reconciled  one  to  another,  in  ho- 
nour preferring  one  another,  and  each  desirous  to  take  the 
lowest  room,  to  the  end  that  ye  may  reap  an  exceeding  weight 
of  glory  hereafter.  And  forasmuch  as  the  people  are  divided, 
and  this  man  is  of  Philoxenus,  and  that  foUoweth  after  Atha- 
nasius, my  counsel  is  that  the  multitude  must  needs  come 
together,  and  that  the  priests  of  the  order  of  Aaron  and  the 
holy  Levites,  which  are  the  deacons,  be  called  into  one  place 
to  declare  openly,  according  to  the  knowledge  given  unto 
them,  what  hath  been  the  custom  of  your  fathers,  and  whom 
they  will  obey  as  their  Bishop  and  faithful  Shepherd.  Like 
as  it  is  written,  "if  thou  hast  anything  against  thy  brother, 
tell  it  unto  the  Church,  and  he  that  will  not  hear  the  Church, 
let  him  be  unto  thee  as  a  heathen  man  and  a  publican."  At 
which  time,  I  also,  if  it  seemeth  good  unto  your  discretion, 
will  be  present  with  you  in  Cotym,  not  as  a  ruler,  for  I  am  a 
stranger  among  you,  nor  as  a  judge,  for  who  am  I  that  I  should 
judge  any  but  mine  own  people.^  but  as  a  brother  in  Christ, 
and  a  faithful  witness  of  that  which  shall  be  determined,  and 
who  may  plead  the  cause  of  your  nation  with  the  Queen  of 
Travancore,  and  with  the  most  excellent  Governor  whom  the 
Kin^  of  England  hath  set  over  his  cities  in  India.  And  foras- 
much as  it  is  slanderously  reported  of  thee  that  thou  art  no 
Bishop  indeed,  let  this  thing  be  also  inquired  into  at  the  mouth 
of  two  or  three  witnesses,  and  let  not  thy  heart  be  troubled  in 
that  I  have  known  our  brother  Athanasius  in  Bombay 5  for  I 


372  APPENDIX. 

have  purposed,  by  God's  grace,  to  know  no  man  after  the 
flesh,  but  to  walk  in  these  things  according  to  the  will  of  God, 
and  the  tradition  of  the  Churches,  and  to  speak  peace,  if  it 
may  be  so,  to  both  of  you,  (are  ye  not  both  brothers?)  and  to 
acknowledge  him,  if  difference  must  be  made,  whom  your 
people  shall  freely  choose  to  rule  over  them;  and  within  forty 
days  I  trust  to  be  strengthened  to  come  unto  you. 

Brethren,  pray  for  me!  Salute  our  brother.  Bishop  Diony- 
sius,  in  my  name,  salute  the  brethren  which  are  with  you,  the 
Malpans,  Catanars,  and  Deacons,  with  all  others  of  the  Church. 
Salute  our  brother  Athanasius.  God  grant  that  ye  may  be  at 
unity  with  each  other.  The  brethren  which  are  with  me, 
even  Thomas  Robinson,  (which  was  in  time  past  known  unto 
the  Bishop  Dionysius,)  and  John  Doran  salute  you. 

Grace,  mercy,  and  peace,  be  with  you  and  in  the  Israel  of 
God  I  Amen. 


COPY  OF  A  LETTER  FROM  THE  REV.  THOMAS  ROBINSON  TO  MAR 
IGNATIUS  GEORGIUS,   PATRIARCH  OF  ANTIOCH. 

1826, 
The  presbyter,  Thomas  Robinson,  Ramban  to  the  blessed 
Mar  Reginald,  bishop  of  the  English  churches  in  India,  sendeth 
greeting  and  reverence. 

I  am  not  worthy  to  write  unto  thy  Eminence,  forasmuch  as 
thy  order  in  the  Church  of  our  Lord  Jesus  is  the  highest,  and 
mine  the  most  humble,  yet  since  God  has  thought  me  worthy 
to  serve  his  honoured  and  blessed  servant.  Mar  Reginald,  the 
Bishop  of  ourX^Jhurch  in  India,  I  pray  thee  to  receive  my  words 
as  the  words  of  him  who  was  my  master  and  my  brother.  The 
rather  is  it  my  duty  to  write  to  thee,  because  there  v/ere  many 
things  which  were  in  his  heart  to  say  unto  thee,  and  he  was 
meditating  a  letter  of  peace  to  thee  at  the  very  time  when  the 
Great  Master  of  all,  the  Chief  Shepherd,  called  him  to  his 
eternal  reward.  With  thy  permission,  therefore,  I  will  relate 
to  thy  wisdom  what  things  he  had  already  done  towards  thy 
churches  in  India,  and  what  was  farther  in  his  mind  to  do.  It 
is  not  unknown  to  thee,  most  reverend  Father,  from  the  infor- 
mation of  the  reverend  Legate  and  Metropolitan  of  thy  churches 
in  Malabar,  Mar  Athanasius,  that  he  met  our  blessed  father, 
Mar  Reginald,  at  Bombay  soon  after  Pentecost,  in  the  last 
year,  (1825,)  and,  as  one  bishop  with  another,  partook  of  the 
holy  mysteries  with  him  at  the  altar  of  the  English  church  de- 
dicated to  St.  Thomas  in  that  city.  Mar  Reginald  shoAved 
great  affection  to  Mar  Athanasius  in  return  for  his  love  to  him, 


APPENDIX.  373 

and  gave  him  letters  to  several  persons  of  distinction  among 
the  English  in  this  country,  commending  him  to  them  as  Me- 
tropolitan and  Supreme  Bisliop  of  the  Syrian  Churches  in 
India.   After  that  time  he  saw  his  face  no  more,  but  he  always 
remembered  the  brotherly  intercourse  that  was  between  themi 
and  when  he  wrote  an  account  of  his  diocese  to  the  most  re- 
verend and  excellent  MarCarolus,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury, 
and  Metropolitan  of  all  the  churches  of  the  English  nation,  he 
made  mention  therein  of  Mar  Athanasius,  and  his  mission 
from  your  Eminence,  and  how,  by  his  means,  an  end  would 
be  put  to  the  irregularities  that  had  heretofore  prevailed  in  the 
church  of  the  Apostle  Thomas  at  Malabar.     Also,  when  an 
English  priest,  Johannes  Doran  by  name,  came  to  him  at  Cal- 
cutta five  months  after,  desiring  to  proceed  to  Malabar,  our 
blessed  Father  gave  him  a  letter  to  Mar  Athanasius,  request- 
ing him  to  allow  him  permission  to  reside  among  his  people, 
and  to  receive  him  as  a  son  for  his  own  sake.     This  letter  I 
have  now  at  length  the  satisfaction  of  sending  to  the  care  of 
your  Eminency,  and  I  will  now  relate  from  what  cause,  and 
in  what  manner,  it  was  most  unfortunately  detained  so  long 
from  the  hands  of  Mar  Athanasius,  for  our  blessed  Father  most 
earnestly  desired  it  should  be  delivered  without  delay,  since 
it  would,  in  all  probability,  have  prevented  his  departure  from 
the  country,  and  healed  the  disorders  and  schisms  that  now 
so  wretchedly  divide  your  Church  in  India. 

When  the  priest  Johannes  Doran,  had  gone  from  Calcutta 
to  Madras  on  his  way  to  the  country  of  Malabar,  he  heard, 
for  the  first  time,  that  there  were  dissensions  between  the  In- 
dian Bishops  and  the  Metropolitan  from  Antioch,  and  being  a 
stranger,  he  was  advised  by  some  persons  that  he  should  avoid 
taking  any  part  in  such  controversies,  even  such  as  might 
seem  just  to  him.  Therefore,  and  on  account  of  his  health, 
he  remained  at  Madras  for  two  months,  till  the  end  of  the 
month  of  February  in  this  year,  when  Mar  Reginald  arrived 
there  on  his  visitation  to  the  southern  part  of  his  diocese.  It 
gave  him  great  grief  to  find  that  Johannes  had  delayed  his 
progress,  although  he  had  given  him  letters  to  Mar  Athana- 
sius, as  the  head  of  those  churches,  in  which  also  he  had  in- 
cluded another  letter  written  by  Abrahim  Abuna,  a  legate  from 
the  Armenian  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  to  Mar  Athanasius.  As 
soon  as  he  obtained  these  letters  again  from  the  hands  of  Jo- 
hannes, on  the  4th  day  of  March,  he  sent  them  to  Travancore, 
to  be  delivered  into  the  Metropolitan's  hands.  He  also  sent 
answers  to  letters  he  had  received  from  that  land,  in  which 
he  exhorted  all  who  were  subject  to  his  authority,  to  reverence 
the  ancient  canons  and  usages  of  the  Syrian  Church,  and  to 
know  him  as  the  rightful  head  and  Metropolitan  of  the  faith- 


374  APPENDIX. 

ful  Indians  in  Malabar,  who  had  been  received  as  such,  agree- 
ably to  your  Eminency's  letters,  in  a  general  convocation  of 
the  Church  summoned  at  Cotym  on  December  29th,  1825,  by 
the  Bishop  Mar  Philoxenus.  He  also  expressly  and  earnestly 
desired  all  these  his  children  not  to  interpose  the  authority  of 
the  heathen  government  in  Travancore,  as  defining  any  thing 
in  tlie  affairs  of  the  Church,  but  to  suffer  all  things  to  continue 
as  they  were  from  the  old  time,  even  since  the  heathen  princes 
gave  the  Syrian  churches  of  Malabar  independent  privileges, 
the  people  choosing  their  ecclesiastical  governors  according  to 
the  rites  and  usages  which  they  held  from  the  day  of  the 
blessed  Apostle  St.  Thomas  to  this  time,  the  government  al- 
lowing their  elections,  and  receiving  those  they  elected,  while 
they  thus  rendered  to  Caesar  the  things  which  were  Caesar's, 
and  to  God  the  things  which  were  God's.  And  forasmuch  as 
it  had  been  reported  to  Mar  Reginald,  that  Mar  Athanasius 
had  acted  violently  in  the  Church,  depriving  those  that  had 
been  formerly  accounted  bishops,  and  despising  the  authority 
of  the  rulers  of  the  land,  our  blessed  father  was  very  careful 
to  inquire  into  this  matter,  that  he  might  represent  it  truly 
to  all  the  deputies  of  the  governors  of  the  English  in  that  land. 
In  the  meantime,  the  letter  of  Mar  Athanasius  to  him,  written 
one  month  before,  which  had  been  ignorantly  sent  to  Calcutta, 
was  given  to  him  at  Madras,  and  to  this  letter  he  sent  an  an- 
swer in  the  Syriac  language  on  the  22d  of  March,  which  also 
I  now  enclose  to  your  Eminency,  wherein  he  assured  him  of 
his  unaltered  friendship,  exhorted  him  to  mildness  and  for- 
bearance till  he  should  come,  and,  with  his  permission  and 
good  will,  mediate  between  him  and  those  in  Travancore  who 
supported  the  Indian  Bishops,  assuring  him  also  that  he  would 
not  leave  unpunished  those  who  behaved  unjustly  or  unkindly 
to  him  in  any  way.  And  Mar  Reginald  acted  even  as  he  had 
wrote,  and  he  obtained  a  promise  from  the  excellent  Governor 
of  the  English  at  Madras,  that  he  would  confirm  whatever  ap- 
pointment he  thought  good  respecting  the  peace  of  the  Church 
in  Malabar.  And  your  Excellency  will  see,  by  his  letters  to 
both  sides,  that  he  intended  that  Mar  Athanasius  should  be 
acknowledged  as  Metropolitan  by  all  those  who  had  power, 
and  that  the  Indian  bishops,  when  it  should  be  seen  they  were 
truly  such,  should  receive  honour  and  maintenance  as  his  suf- 
fragans. 

In  this  belief  and  intention  he  wrote  also  a  letter  of  friend- 
ship and  brotherly  love  to  Mar  Philoxenus,  as  one  Bishop  to 
another,  exhorting  him  to  receive  Athanasius,  as  sent  by  your 
Eminency,  to  rule  them.  I  send  a  copy  of  that  letter  to  your 
Eminency.  I  beg  your  Eminency's  wise  and  careful  attention 
to  this  account,  and  of  the  truth  of  it  I  myself  am  witness,  for  I 


wrote  with  my  own  hand  the  two  letters  to  Mar  Athanasius, 
and  have  been  near  to  our  blessed  father  as  his  Ramban  and 
Secretary  during  all  these  transactions.     Your  wisdom  will 
judge  from  this,  with  what  grief  and  surprise  Mar  Reginald 
heard  the  events  that  took  place  at  the  same  time  at  Travan- 
core.     These  events  there  is  no  need  that  I  relate,  as  your 
Eminency  has  heard  them  clearly  from  Mar  Athanasius  him- 
self; but  the  thing  which  gives  most  grief  to  the  hearts  of  all 
who  love  the  memory  and  rejoiced  in  the  plans  of  our  late 
blessed  father  in  Christ,  is  that  his  two  letters  to  Mar  Atha- 
nasius were  not  received.     The  first  letter  which,  as  I  have 
mentioned,  was  sent  on  the  4th  of  March,  must  have  arrived  at 
Travancore  either  on  the  same  day  Mar  Athanasius  was  ar- 
rested by  the  Divan,  and  banished  the  country,  or  at  least  the 
day  after;  yet  the  letter  was  not  sent  after  him  to  Cochin, 
where  he  remained  many  days.     Nor  was  it  told  to  Mar  Re- 
ginald that  his  letter  had  not  been  delivered  till  many  days 
after  it  had  arrived  at  Travancore,  and  this  news  not  coming 
to  the  Bishop  till  after  Easter  at  Tanjore,  no  remedy  was  found 
for  the  evil,  much  less  was  the  second  letter  delivered,  which 
was  written,  as  I  have  mentioned,  twenty  days  later  than  the 
other.     But  as  soon  as  Mar  Reginald  heard,  as  he  did  in  the 
Passion-week,  that  the  Metropolitan  had  been  arrested  by  or- 
der of  the  heathen  Government,  he  immediately  wrote  a  let- 
ter to  the  British  Deputy  in  Travancore,  Colonel  Newall,  who 
was  then  living  at  some  distance  in  the  mountains  of  the  north. 
In  that  letter  he  supplicated  him  to  stop  all  these  proceedings 
against  Mar  Athanasius,  to  wait  for  his  coming  before  he 
listened  to  any  accusation  against  the  person  bearino-  the  com- 
mission of  your  Eminency,  and  recognised  in  that  character, 
as  he  had  no  doubt  he  soon  would  be,  by  all  of  the  faithful  in 
Malabar.     He  reminded  him  moreover  how  infamous  it  would 
be  to  the  English  nation,  if  we  should  admit,  in  any  degree, 
the  accursed  practices  which  we  all  condemn  in  the  disciples 
of  the  corrupt  Church  of  Rome,  in  their  conduct  towards  the 
Legates  from  Syria,  who  came  to  the  ancient  churches,  which 
Divine  Providence  had  now  placed  under  our  civil  government 
and  protection.     Our  blessed  Father  Mar  Reginald,  lived  not 
long  after  the  writing  of  that  excellent  letter.   It  was  his  mind 
to  have  followed  it  up  by  a  letter  to  your  Eminency,  and  by 
other  acts  calculated  to  ensure  the  peace  of  your  Church  at 
Malabar,  when  it  pleased  his  heavenly  Father  to   call  him 
to  himself.     The  letter  was,  however,  received  by  Colonel 
Newall,  who  immediately  sent  orders  to  the  Divan  of  Travan- 
core, to  stay  all  farther  proceedings  against  Mar  Athanasius, 
and  to  authorize  his  return  to  the  country.     That  letter  ar- 
riving after  the  death  of  Mar  Reginald,  'was  opened  and  read 
Vol.  II.— 32 


376  APPENDIX, 

by  me.  But,  alas!  the  news  had  already  arrived  from  Travan- 
core,  that  Mar  Athanasius  had  already  sailed  from  Cochiiiy 
and  consequently,  that  these  orders  of  the  Resident  came  too 
late.  It  would  ill  become  me,  most  reverend  Father  to  obtrude 
any  counsel  of  mine  upon  your  Eminency,  in  an  affair  where 
the  peace  of  your  Church  is  so  nearly  concerned.  Suffer  me, 
however,  to  give  you  what  are  not  mine,  but  the  ideas  of  my 
honoured  Father  in  the  Lord,  whose  nearest  wish  after  the 
prosperity  of  his  own  children,  and  the  extension  of  the  Gospel 
of  the  Lord  by  their  means,  was  to  preserve  the  integrity  of 
the  Church,  subjected  to  your  Eminency's  rule  in  the  land  of 
Malabar.  It  appeared,  then,  to  Mar  Reginald,  from  very 
strict  and  accurate  inquiries  made  into  the  truth  of  the  cir- 
cumstances, not  only  from  those  resident  in  Cotym,  but  from 
others  also,  that  when  the  last  prelates,  (on  whom  be  the  peace 
of  God,)  came  from  Syria  to  Malabar,  Mar  Gregorius  of  Jeru- 
salem, Mar  Basilius  Maphiran,  and  Mar  Johannes,  they  en- 
countered the  like  opposition  from  the  ambition  of  the  In- 
dian Bishop,  Mar  Thona,  and  his  nephew,  that  Mar  Atha- 
nasius has  to  encounter  from  the  ignorance  and  prejudice 
of  those  opposed  to  him.  Nevertheless,  as  disciples  of 
Him  who  was  lowly  and  meek  in  heart,  and  who  by  His  own 
mouth,  and  that  of  His  holy  apostles,  lias  taught  us  not  to 
render  evil  for  evil,  but  to  overcome  evil  with  good,  they,  after 
more  than  eighteen  years  quarrelling,  procured  the  younger 
Indian  Bishop  to  be  submissive  to  their  will,  and,  (Mar  Basi- 
lius being  dead,)  Mar  Gregorius  consecrated  him,  and  honour- 
ed him  with  the  title  of  Metropolitan,  by  the  name  of  Diony- 
sius.  All  this  is  not  unknown  to  your  Eminency,  but  besides 
this,  it  is  also  true  that  there  was  a  young  Indian  Priest,  who 
during  all  these  troubles  and  contentions,  remained  faithful 
to  the  just  cause  of  the  Syrian  Prelates  from  Antioch.  Him, 
therefore,  during  these  troubles.  Mar  Basilius  had  consecra- 
ted Bishop,  by  the  name  of  Cyrillus.  And  it  is  said  also, 
though  with  what  truth  I  know  not  certainly,  that  when  Mar 
Gregorius  had  given  the  title  of  Metropolitan  to  Dionysius, 
and  when  Mar  Dionysius  afterwards  refused  to  give  him  the 
maintenance  he  agreed  to  give,  then  Mar  Gregorius  gave  the 
same  title  of  Metropolitan  to  the  aforesaid  Cyrillus.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  as  to  his  dignity  of  Metropolitan,  or  what- 
ever ridit  this  may  have  conferred  upon  him,  it  is  the  confes- 
sion of  all  in  Malabar,  of  every  party,  that  he  was  truly  a 
Bishop  by  tlie  consecration  of  Mar  Basilius.  That  Cyrillus,  as 
is  sufficiently  attested,  consecrated  another  Priest  before  his 
death,  A.  D.  1805,  by  the  name  of  Philoxenus,  who  again,  in 
1812,  consecrated  in  the  same  manner,  him  who  now  lives 
and  is  called  Mar  Philoxenus.     Now,  though  the  title  of  Me- 


axxxx;4X'<ix'xjv« 


tropolitan  is  wrongly  assumed  by  that  Prelate,  and  the  others 
whom  he  has  consecrated,  and  ignorantly  allowed  them  by  the 
heathen  governors  of  the  land,  it  will  not  be  doubtful  to  your 
Eminency  that  they  are  real  Bishops,  though  there  were  not 
the  number  of  Prelates  present  at  the  consecration  which  the 
holy  canons  ordinarily  require.  But  in  a  barbarous  land, 
where  Bishops  are  very  few,  where  intercourse  with  the  see 
of  Antioch  was  interrupted  and  difficult,  it  may  seem  perhaps 
to  your  Eminency,  as  it  did  to  Mar  Reginald,  that  it  were 
better  for  a  Bishop  before  his  death  to  provide  successors  for 
himself,  provided  the  real  form  of  ordination  be  duly  observed, 
than  that  the  Church  should  be  left  entirely  destitute  of  Bi- 
shops. More  especially,  when  at  the  demise  of  the  true  Me- 
tropolitan, more  than  twelve  years  ago,  there  was  no  provision 
for  the  continuance  of  lawful  pastors  among  the  people  of  Ma- 
labar, unless  the  other  successions  fi'om  Mar  Basilius  were 
admitted  as  true,  which  continued  from  Cyrillus  to  those  who 
are  now  in  Malabar.  It  was  therefore  in  our  blessed  Father's 
mind  to  intreat  your  Eminency,  and  also  his  right  reverend 
brother  Mar  Athanasius,  to  lay  aside  all  prejudices  from  the 
reports  of  ambitious  men  in  India,  who  often  decry  in  their 
brethren  those  things  which  they  only  desire  for  themselves, 
and  that  you  would  consult  in  these  matters  what  is  conducive 
to  the  peace,  security,  and  welfare  of  the  Church,  not  indeed 
giving  place,  even  for  an  hour,  to  those  prejudiced  or  wicked 
brethren  who  pretend  to  set  up  the  right  of  the  heathen  ma- 
gistrates to  name  Church  Governors,  against  that  of  the  See  of 
Antioch,  but  not  denying  even  to  the  gainsaying  and  the  pre- 
judiced, that  character  which  is  allowed  them  by  the  nation  if 
it  should  appear  on  due  examination  and  trial  by  the  faithful, 
the  priests,  and  doctors  of  Malabar,  that  the  character  of  Bi- 
shop does  of  right  belong  to  them.  By  these  mild  means,  and 
by  inviting  a  fair  and  impartial  trial  of  all  doubtful  matters, 
the  peace  and  order  of  the  Church  will  be  best  promoted.  Our 
brethren  and  fathers  of  the  English  Church  all  look  with  the 
greatest  interest  and  affection  on  the  state  of  the  Church  of  the 
Apostle  St.  Thomas,  in  Malabar,  all  desire  earnestly  to  see  it 
in  peace  and  prosperity,  and  its  connexion  with  Syria  unim- 
paired, and  they  all  will  hear  with  sorrow  of  the  violent  remo- 
val of  your  Legate  from  this  country.  I  am  now  engaged,  as 
it  is  my  bounden  duty,  in  giving  an  account  of  these  transac- 
tions, with  the  whole  of  the  wishes  of  our  blessed  Father  con- 
cerning them,  to  our  venerable  Father  and  Lord  Mar  Carolus, 
Primate  of  England. 

&c.  &c.  &c. 

Thomas  Robinsok, 
Priest  and  Ramban  of  Mar  Reginald  the  Blessed. 


378  APPENDIX. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  A  LETTER  TO  THE  REVEREND  WILLIAM  ROY, 
SECRETARY  TO  THE  MADRAS  DIOCESAN  COMMITTEE  OF  THE 
SOCIETY  FOR  THE  PROTAGATION  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

Tanj&re,  October  19,  1826. 

■■*;-  *  *  *  *  * 

Our  dear  Father,  the  late  revered  Bishop  Heber,  arrived 
here  early  on  the  25th  of  March,  and  on  the  day  following^ 
which  was  Easter  Sunday,  he  preached  at  the  Mission  Church 
in  the  Little  Fort  a  most  impressive  sermon  on  Rev.  i.  8.  '*! 
am  he  that  liveth  and  was  dead,  and  behold  I  am  alive  for 
evermore."  The  powerful  truths  that  proved  the  glory  of  the 
Saviour,  and  the  most  aftecting  arguments  to  prevail  on  every 
one  to  trust  in  Him,  and  to  love  and  honour  Him,  made  a 
deep  impression  on  the  hearts  of  the  hearers.  His  Lordship 
then  administered  the  Holy  Sacrament  to  thirty  persons  of  the 
English,  and  fifty-seven  ol  the  Tamul  congregation.  A  great 
part  of  our  native  congregation,  who  understood  English  at- 
tended the  divine  service,  and  although  they  could  not  have 
understood  every  particular  of  the  learned,  yet  very  awaken- 
ing sermon  of  his  Lordship's,  being,  however,  much  affected 
by  it,  after  divine  service  they  unanimously  prayed  his  Lord- 
ship to  grant  them  a  copy  of  the  same;  most  condescendingly 
he  told  them  that  he  would  send  them  a  copy  of  it  with  some 
alterations,  that  they  might  be  able  to  understand  it  better. 
We  greatly  lament  that  this  kind  promise  cannot  now  be  ac- 
complished ! 

After  divine  service,  his  Lordship  also  signified  his  inten- 
tion of  seeing  the  Tamul  congregation  in  the  evening,  and 
appointed  the  day  following  for  the  confirmation  of  the  Eng- 
lish and  Tamul  young  people  who  were  presented  to  him 
after  Church.  In  the  evening  Divine  Service  was  performed 
in  Tamul  at  the  Mission  Church  in  the  Little  Fort.  It  com- 
menced at  half-past  six.  The  Church  was  illuminated  by  the 
kindness  of  our  Resident,  Captain  Fyfe.  The  Liturgy  was 
read  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bahrenbruck,  and  Nullatambi,  native 
priests.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Csemmerer  preached  on  St.  John,  xi. 
25.  After  the  conclusion  of  the  sermon,  his  Lordship  pro- 
nounced the  blessing  in  Tamul  from  the  altar,  correct  and 
distinct,  to  the  great  surprise  and  joy  of  the  whole  native  con- 
gregation. 

On  Easter  Monday,  in  the  forenoon,  after  the  reading  of 
the  service,  tv/elve  young  persons  of  the  English,  and  fifty  of 
the  native  congregation,  were  confirmed  by  his  Lordship,  the 
former  in  the  English  and  the  latter  in  the  Tamul  language. 
The  correctness  with  which  his  Lordship  pronounced  every 


APPENDIX.  379 

word  in  Tamul,  was  not  only  striking,  l)ut  will  be  always  re- 
membered by  our  native  Christians  as  a  proof  of  the  apostolic 
spirit  which  was  in  him,  a  proof  of  his  fervent  zeal  and  bene- 
volent disposition  to  promote  the  eternal  welfare,  not  only  of 
Europeans,  but  also  of  the  poor  natives. 

In  the  evening,  after  the  sermon,  his  Lordship  delivered  a 
most  aftecting  address  from  the  altar,  to  the  missionaries  and 
the  native  priests  who  were  present,  animating  them  to  zeal 
and  diligence  in  the  discharge  of  their  important  work,  under 
all  trials  and  difficulties,  according  to  the  example  of  the  holy 
apostle  and  of  Schwartz,  the  founder  of  this,  and  of  the  Tri- 
chinopoly  mission.  The  address  was  delivered  near  the  re- 
mains of  the  venerable  Schwartz,  and  thereby  rendered  more 
affecting  to  every  one  present.  It  was  delivered  extempore. 
It  seems  his  Lordship  had  no  thought  of  delivering  this  address 
when  he  entered  the  chapel,  and  the  thought  struck  him  only 
at  the  sight  of  the  number  of  missionaries  and  native  priests 
whom  he  saw  before  him.  Although  it  was  delivered  with 
remarkable  plainness,  yet  every  word  of  it  came  with  power, 
and  went  tlirough  the  heart.  Oh  how  glad  would  I  be  if  I  had 
a  copy  of  that  excellent  address !  May  a  merciful  God  help 
us  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  that  we  may  always  remember  and  do 
what  has  been  told  us  by  our  dear  Father! 

On  the  three  following  days  his  Lordship  spent  a  great  part 
of  the  forenoon  and  afternoon  in  inquiring  into  the  various 
concerns  of  the  Tanjore  and  Tinnevelly  missions,  gave  neces- 
sary directions  to  the  missionaries  to  be  observed  by  them  for 
the  good  of  those  missions,  and  had  the  kindness  to  signify  to 
them  those  directions  in  a  letter  written  with  his  own  hand, 
on  Friday  the  31st  of  March,  the  day  he  left  Tanjore  for  Tri- 
chinopoljT^.  Petitions  were  also  presented  to  his  Lordship  by 
native  priests,  catechists,  and  poor.  He  received  them  with 
great  condescension,  granted  the  relief  solicited  for,  and  pro- 
mised to  do  what  could  not  have  been  done  immediately. 
Two  of  the  native  teachers  at  this  place  were  presented  to  his 
Lordship  as  fit  subjects  for  being  ordained  and  were  approved 
of  by  him. 

The  Rev.  G.  Sperschneider,  who  had  been  lately  on  a  visit 
to  the  mission  at  Trichinopoly,  having  made  mention,  among 
other  particulars,  about  eleven  young  people  there  who  wished 
to  be  confirmed,  I  set  out  for  that  place  in  order  to  present 
them  to  his  Lordship  for  confirmation,  and  arrived  on  the  2d 
of  April  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Schreyvogel.  We  attended  divine 
service  at  St.  John's,  and  had  the  happiness  of  hearing  another 
very  impressive  sermon  preached  by  his  Lordship  on  1  John 
v.  6,  7.  His  Lordship  then  let  me  know,  by  his  chaplain, 
that  as  the  English  and  Tamul  confirmations  could  not  couve- 

32* 


380  APPENDIX. 

niently  be  performed  at  the  same  time,  he  was  purposed  to 
confirm  the  young  people  of  the  Tamul  congregation,  early 
the  following  morning,  at  the  Mission  Church  in  the  Fort  In 
the  evening  his  Lordship  confirmed  about  seventy  persons  of 
St.  John's  parish^  and  delivered  afterwards  from  the  pulpit  a 
most  affectionate  address  to  the  young  people  in  particular 
who  were  confirmed,  to  be  faithful  to  their  sacred  engagements, 
and  to  watchfulness  and  prayer. 

Agreeably  to  his  Lordship's  desire,  the  Tamul  congrega- 
tion assembled  very  early  on  Monday  morning  the  3d  of  April, 
at  the  Mission  Church  in  the  Fort.  His  Lordship  arrived  at 
sunrise,  and  after  the  reading  of  usual  prayers,  he  confirmed 
in  Tamul  eleven  young  persons  of  the  Ti  ichinopoly  mission. 
The  service  was  solemn  and  affecting,  and  I  sincerely  hope 
that  every  one  of  those  who  were  confirmed  by  the  hands  of 
our  late  dear  Father,  were  deeply  impressed  with  a  lively  sense 
of  the  solemn  act  performed  by  them.  The  service  was  con- 
cluded by  the  blessing  pronounced  by  his  Lordship  in  Tamul. 

After  service  his  Lordship  took  a  view  of  the  Mission 
Church,  and  expressed  his  regret  at  the  decayed  state  it  was 
in,  and  the  distress  of  the  mission,  adding  that,  after  delibe- 
ration, he  would  communicate  his  thoughts  for  the  repair  of 
the  Church,  and  the  good  of  the  Trichinopoly  mission;  he  also 
took  a  view  of  the  English  and  Tamul  schools,  and  the  mis- 
sionary's house,  which  are  all  built  near  the  Church.  A  great 
part  of  the  Tamul  congregation  being  still  present,  his  Lord- 
ship exhorted  them  to  be  Christians  not  only  in  name,  but  in 
reality,  to  shine  as  lights  before  the  heathen  among  whom  they 
lived.  He  promised  to  send  them  soon  a  missionary,  and 
wished  that  God  would  pour  down  his  blessings  upon  them. 
He  then  very  kindly  took  leave  of  me,  and  returned  to  the 
house  of  Mr.  Bird,  Circuit  Judge.  Little  did  I  think  that 
that  was  the  last  farewell — and  never  to  see  him  again  in  this 
world. 

Three  hours  had  nearly  elapsed  since  his  Lordship  left  the 
Church  when  a  rumour  was  spread  in  the  Fort  that  his  Lord- 
ship had  been  taken  dead  out  of  the  bath  in  which  he  went 
after  his  return  from  the  Fort.  The  first  notice  was  brought 
to  me  by  one  of  the  catechists,  who  came  running  out  of  breath 
and  delivered  the  mournful  news  with  bitter  cries  and  lamen- 
tations. I  could  give  no  credit  to  the  melancholy  report,  till 
it  was  confirmed  by  note  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wright,  which 
informed  me  that  our  dear  Father  was  no  more  an  inhabitant 
of  this  world. 

In  the  afternoon  I  called  on  Mr.  Robinson;  we  shed  our 
tears  over  the  smiling  countenance  of  our  late  dear  departed 
Father,  and  comforted  ourselves  with  the  thoughts  of  a  better 


APPENDIX.  381 

world,  where  there  will  be  no  sorrow,  and  where  all  tears 
will  be  wiped  away.  It  is  mournful,  indeed,  to  reflect  upon 
the  sudden  and  abrupt  manner  in  which  our  dear  Father  was 
removed  from  our  eyes,  when  we  were  admiring  the  Grace  of 
God  that  appeared  in  him.  To  himself,  however,  death  was 
gain.  He  died  like  a  good  servant  of  his  Lord,  who  found 
him  engaged  in  his  proper  work.  But  our  loss  by  his  depar- 
ture seems  irreparable.  We  have  lost  a  Father,  and  this  is  a 
loss  which  God  can  alone  make  up.  May  He  graciously  grant 
that  we  may  not  be  wholly  disappointed! 

Early  the  following  morning  I  attended  the  funeral  of  our 
late  reverend  Father,  which  was  conducted  with  all  the  ho- 
nours due  to  his  blessed  remains.  It  was  a  mournful  and 
afflicting  scene,  indeed,  which  I  have  not  witnessed  since  the 
death  ot  the  venerable  Schwartz. 

On  the  9th  of  April  I  preached  to  the  Tamul  congregation, 
and  exhorted  the  Christians  to  consider  the  late  mournful 
event  as  a  warning  from  God  to  repent,  and  to  show  their  gra- 
titude to  God  by  a  holy  life.  After  the  Tamul  service  I  at- 
tended Divine  Service  at  St.  John's,  and  heard  the  excellent 
sermon  preached  by  the  Rev.  T.  Robinson,  in  memory  of  our 
late  Father.  It  impressed  on  our  minds,  not  only  that  esteem 
and  veneration  due  to  the  memory  of  our  late  beloved  Bishop, 
but  awakened  us  also  to  endeavour  that  we  may  be  approved 

of  the  Lord  when  he  shall  be  pleased  to  call  us  away. 

*  *  *  *  *  *  * 

I  am,  with  great  respect. 
Reverend  Sir, 

Your  very  obedient  humble  servant, 

J.    C.   KoHLHOFr. 


IJVDEX. 


ABRAHAM  MAR,  ii.  342-3. 

Abdullah,  i.  106;  made  Jemaut- 
dar;  makes  pummels  for  mules, 
399. 

Abdul  Musseeh,  a  convert,  i. 
487;  ordained,  488;  his  death,  ib. 

Abel,  Dr.  Clark,  i.  63. 

Ablution,  i.  58, 

Ahoo  town,  ii.  35. 

AcBAR,  tomb  of,  i.  486;  his  palace, 
487;  makes  pilgrimage  to  Ajmere, 
ii.  26. 

AcLAND,  Sir  Thomas  Dyke,  i.  315. 

Adamsonia  tree,  i.  70. 

Adam,  Mr.  John,  i.  398;  meets  the 
Bishop,  416;  his  character,  ii. 
292-4. 

Adam's  peak,  ii.  192;  tradition,  ib. 

Adawlut  courts,  ii.  112;  at  Kairah, 
118;  beseiged,  ib. 

^gra,  judge  of,  sends  escort,  i.  480; 
ruins  of,  486;  court  of  justice, 
487. 

Ajmere  town,  ii.  25. 

Allahabad,  i.  290;  buildings,  291; 
confirmation,  292. 

Alligators,  i.  QS;  again,  190;  again, 
ii.  202. 

Allypoor  village,  i.  58. 

Alexander,  Colonel,  i.  269; 
drives  the  Bishop  to  a  tomb, 
273;  compares  outward  marks  of 
devotion,     ib.;  Letter,  to  275. 

Almorah  city,  reasons  for  visiting 
it,  i.  376;  preparations  for  journey 
to,  398;  approach  to,  411;  de- 
scription of,  416;  Divine  Service, 
417;  hopes  respecting  Missiona- 
ries, ii.  280. 

Ambera  village,  ii.  63. 

Amblegodde,  bungalow,  ii.  175; 
again,  204. 

Anibowlee  village,  ii.  150. 

Ameer  Khan,  his  character,  i. 
511;  again  515;  horrors  inflicted 
by,   520;  oflfers  to  invade  Jye- 


poor.  ii.  10;  turns  Saint,  43-4. 

Amroah  town,  i.  446. 

Amrut  Row,  i.  253;  inquires  con- 
cerning Christianity,  265. 

Amherst,  Lord,  introduction  to, 
i.  56;  his  letter  to  the  king  of 
Oude,  327;  anxious  for  peace,  ii. 
250. 

Amherst,  Lady,  kindness  of,  ii. 
274. 

Anass  river,  ii.  79. 

Animal  food  not  forbidden,  i.  45. 

Ant-hills,  i.  182. 

Antioch,  patriarch  of,  ii.  349. 

Anund  Musseeh,  i.  301. 

Ape,  sacred,  i.  172. 

Aqueduct  at  Lucknow,  458. 

Arab  ships,  i.  46;  brig  shipwreck- 
ed, ii.  167. 

Architecture,  Oriental,  ii.  285; 
antiquities  of,  301;  modern,  302. 

Ariosto,  ii.  13. 

Armenians  in  Dacca,  i.  146;  visit  of 
archbishop,  155;  in  Madras,  ii. 
214. 

Ass  from  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  i. 
62;  from  Cutch,  ii.  152. 

Assam,  custom  in,  i.  516. 

Athanass,  Mr.,  follows  the  Bi- 
shop, ii.  31. 

Ava,  king  of,  ii.  250;  his  demands, 
ib.;  war  with,  251. 

AvDAL,  Mr.  Armenian,  ii.  342. 

AuRUNGZEBE,  mosquc  of,  i.  261. 

Azeem  Khan,  visit  to  prince,  ii. 
214. 

Athanasius.  Mar,  ii.  344. 


B. 


Babington,  Mr.  C.  R.  ii.  166. 
Baboon   alarms  sentry,   ii.   80;   in 

Ceylon,  192. 
Baboos,  houses  of,  i.  56. 
Baddagame,    ii.    174;    again   204; 

confirmation  205;  departure  from, 

206;  account,  324. 
Bahar,  people   of,    i.    114;    ugly 


384 


INDEX. 


country,  ii.  276;  differs  from  the 
Dooab,  277. 

Baillie,  Mr.  Evan  Hamilton,  at 
Tannah,  ii.  167. 

Bali,  city  of,  the  great,  ii.  218;  bas- 
reliefs,  219. 

Bamboos,  best  in  a  dry  soil,  i.  191. 

Bandursindree  town,  ii.  23. 

Bankes,  Mr.  W.  J.,  i.  328. 

Jiankipoor,  i.  218;  opium  ware- 
houses, ib. 

Banks  of  the  river  falling,  i.  131. 

Banswarra,  palace  of,  ii.  74;  Ra- 
wul  calls  on  the  bishop,  75;  de- 
scription, 76;  exchange  of  pre- 
sents, 77. 

Banyan-tree,  ii.  91.  one  on  the  Ner- 
budda,  132. 

Baptist  missionaries,  i.  81;  minister 
at  Dacca,  147.  at  Monghyr,  207; 
again,  ii.  265. 

Bareilly  town,  i.  373;  professional 
duties,  ib.;  female  convert,  ib. 
Barley-reaping,  ii.  84, 

Barnes,  Sir  Edward,  ii.  177;  din- 
ner with,  ib.;  lends  his  horses, 
179;  makes  new  roads,  190;  and 
tunnel,  199. 

Barnes,  Lady,  "kindness  from  ii. 
204;  again,  321. 

BARiras,  archdeacon,  meets  the  Bi- 
shop, ii.  95;  accompanies  him, 
106  to  Poonah,  154;  proposes  to 
resign,  264;  character,  326* 

Baroda,  march  towards,  ii.  95; 
Guicwar  of,  meets  the  bishop, 
96;  his  character,  99;  bishop  vi- 
sits him,  100;  visit  returned,  104; 
town  and  residency,  97;  church, 
98:  escort  increased,  106. 

Barrackpoor,  i.  60;  again  73;  again, 
ii.  223;  mutiny  at,  316. 

Barreah,  Rajah  of,  sends  kamdar 
and  guides,  ii.  85;  visits  the  bi- 
shop, 87;  presents  a  horse,  88; 
town,  89;  famine,  ib.;  misery,  ib.; 
superstition  of  inhabitants,  90. 

Barodeah  village,  ii.  73. 

Bassein,  pass  by,  ii.  137;  ruins, 
143;  again,  146. 

Bats,  large,  i.  49;  vampire,  65; 
bats,  ii.  226. 

Bayaderes,  ii.  220.  . 

Bears,  i.  62;  in  Himalaya,  419;  in 
Ceylon,  ii.  201. 


Bearers,  desert,  ii.  15;  one  missing, 
78;  noise  they  make,  156. 

Beemthal,  i.  402;  excursion  to  lake, 
403. 

Beggars,  i.  126;  mode  of  begging, 
120;  blind,  168;  caste  of,  181; 
distribution  of  money  to,  336. 

Begumabad,  i.  455. 

Begum  Sumroo,  history  cf,  i.  452; 
written  to  by  the  bishop,  455. 

Begum  of  Delhi,  presents  from,  i. 
477. 

Belagary,  village,  i.  436. 

Belgaram,  i.  353. 

Belt  of  Death,  i.  377. 

Benares,  Raja  of,  visits  from,  i.265. 

Benares,  town,  i.  251;  bulls  and 
beggars,  257;  baboo's  house,  253; 
pagoda,  245;  not  many  converts 
at,  264;  quarrel  between,  284; 
house  tax,  286;  "  dhurna,"  ib.; 
popularity  of  governors,  289; 
stables  blown  down,  ii.  261;  pro- 
posal to  live  at,  283. 

Bengal,  not  part  of  Hindoostan  i. 
184;  flat,  ib.;  language,  ii.  276; 
natives  fond  of  singing,  ib.;  culti- 
vation of  land,  252. 

Bengal,  vessels  described,  i.  51; 
again,  102;  servants,  account  of 
the  bishop's  journey,  486. 

Ben  Totte,  ii.  175;  again,  204. 

Bhadrinath,  i.  388;  pilgrimage  to, 
411;  height,  415;  temple  at,  434. 

Bhat,  poetry  of,  ii.  32;  account  of, 
ib. 

Bheels,  their  mode  of  catching  fish, 
ii.  39  and  40;  bows,  40;  depreda- 
tions, 41;  original  inhabitants  of 
Rajpootana,  56;  corps  raised  by 
Sir  John  Malcolm,  56;  described, 
65;  robbers,  67;  hut,  67;  signals, 
ib.;  suffer  from  drought,  67; 
guides,  73;  huts,  77;  mock  battle 
between,  82;  plunder,  and  beat  a 
woman,  82;  anecdote  of  chief, 
87;  guides  across  the  Mhye,  107; 
watchmen,  108. 

Bheelwarra,  town,  ii.  37;  robbers 
near,  43. 

Bhooieas,  tribe  of,  i.  415,  horses,  420. 

Bhurtpoor,  Raja  of,  i.  475;  rampart 
of,  visible,  495;  sends  Vakeel  and 
letter,  498;  government  descri- 
bed, 99;  bishop  returns  answer, 
506;  siege  of,  ii.  305,  329. 


INDEX. 


385 


BiccanerCy  town,  ii.  35. 

JBindrabund,  holy  place,   i.    481; 
servant  and  escort  go  to,  ib. 
Birds  of  Paradise,  132. 

Birds,  small,  ii.  169;  in  Kemaoon,  i. 
419. 

Birman  Empire ^  ii.  250;  war  with, 
303. 

Birth  of  the  bishop's  youngest 
daughter,  i.  83. 

Bishop's  College,  i.  71;  designs  with 
reference  to,  ii.  310;  affairs  of, 
318;  again,  326;  committees  in 
support  of,  343. 

Buss,  Rev.  Philip,  i.  440. 

Blunt,  Rev.  J.  J.,  letter  to,  ii.  317. 

Boa  constrictor  in  Kemaoon,  i.  447; 
in  Ceylon,  ii,  202. 

Botanical  garden,  i.  69;  at  Ceylon, 
ii.  201. 

BogUpoor,  i.  202. 

Bogwangala,  i.  176;  Nach  girls,  ib. 

Boitpoor  town,  i.  437. 

Bombay,  arrival  at,  ii.  138;  profes- 
sional duties,  ib.;  esplanade,  150; 
government  houses,  151;  obser- 
vations, 168;  departure  from, 
170. 

Bootees,  described,  i.  518;  again,  ii. 
38;  again,  52;  again,  87. 

Boras,  sect  of,  ii.  59;  quarrel  with 
Sunnites,  60;  unpopular,  130; 
quarrel  with  Patans,  133;  thrive 
in  Surat,  136. 

Bore  in  the  ganges,  i.  82. 

BouLDERSON,  Mr.,  i.  378;  accom- 
panies the  Bishop,  379;  charac-' 
ter,  403. 

BowLY,  Mr.  re-ordained,  ii.  341. 

BoYD,  Mr.  Broach,  sends  guides,  ii. 
130. 

Brahmins,  predict  inundation,  i.  47; 
some  Decoits,  163;  village  of, 
205;  tired  of  their  ceremonies, 
295;  one  with  tumour  on  his 
wrist,  511;  he  accompanies  the 
Bishop  to  Jyepoor,  519;  amputa- 
tion of  his  hand,  ii.  17;  they  sa- 
crifice animals,  293. 

Brahminy  bulls,  i.  123. 

Jirahniiny  Kerar,  i.  478. 

Bread  described,  i.  370. 

Bread-fruit  tree,  ii.  176. 

Brinjarries^  encampment  of,  ii.  28; 
their  treatment  from  native  ar- 
mies, ib.;  meet  them  with  escort 


of  Bheels,  85;  carrying  corn,  93; 
their  woman,  ib. 

British  influence  favourable  to  In- 
dia, ii.  287;  Government  not  gen- 
erally popular,  ib.;  reasons  why, 
ib.;  compared  with  the  French, 
288. 

Broach,  unhealthy,  ii,  130. 

Bronze  tint,  effect  of,  i.  42,  43. 

Brooke,  Mr.  Wm.  Augustus,  Be- 
nares, i.  247. 

Browning,  Rev.  Mr.,  Candy,  ii. 
198. 

Brow^nrigge,  Gen.  ii.  322. 

BucKLAND,  Dr.,  i.  420. 

Buddh,  sermon  by,  ii.  322. 

Buddhist  priests,  visit  from,  ii.  194; 
temples,  197. 

Buffaloes  in  S.  Bengal,  i.  48;  white 
one,  437;  in  Bombay,  ii.  169. 

Buggeroo,  village,  ii.  17. 

Bugs,  flying,  i.  116. 

Buildings    soon  decay,  i.  109. 

Bullumghur,  Raja  of,  i.  469;  in- 
vitation from,  475;  bishop  visits, 
ib.  Nach  girls,  476;  sends  escort, 
477. 

Balwar  Singh,  his  history,  ii.  45 

Bunaee  town,  ii.  30;  fair  at,  30,  31; 
Raja  of,  31. 

Bunaira,  town,  ii.  35;  Raja  of, 
meets  the  bishop,  ib.;  conversa- 
tion with,  36. 

Bunass  river,  ii.  39;  again,  45. 

Bunder  boat,  ii.  133. 

Bunyhiinya  village,  i.  117. 

Butcher's  island,  ii.  154. 

Bussorah  Merchant,  crew  of,  ii, 
209;  invalids,  ib.;  again,  332. 

Butter  at  Decoleah,  i.  514. 

Buxar,  i.  229;  fort,  ib.;  natives  at- 
tending service,  230;  schools,  ib. 


Cabul,  horse,  i.  433.  455. 

Cactus  used  as  fortifications,  ii.  25; 
with  bamboos,  ib. 

Cadampoor  village,  i.  117, 

Caffres  in  Ceylon,  ii.  199. 

Calcutta,  approach  to,  i.  52;  fort, 
53;  cathedral,  56;  quay  59,  again, 
ii.  233;  confirmation,  i.  83;  shops 
and  bazars,  94;  free-school,  6S; 
departure  from,  101;  situation, 
134;  again,  ii.  204;  state  used. 


386 


INDEX. 


225;  country  round,  ib.;  city, 
232;  again,  235;  climate,  238; 
alarm  in,  304. 

Callianee  river,  ii.  157. 

Calisunker,  Gossant,  i.  250. 

Calpee,  afifair  at,  i.  483;  again,  ii. 
282. 

Caltura,  ii.  176;  again,  204. 

Camel,  cruelty  to,  i.  308;  used  by 
couriers,  323;''driver  left  sick  at 
Moradabad,  439;  returns,  497. 

Campbell,  Mr.  Archibald,  at 
Shajihanpoor,  i.  363. 

Candaulah  waterfall,  ii.  156;  vil- 
lage, ib.;  again,  166. 

Candy i  excursion  to,  ii.  188;  2d 
Adigar,  191;  1st  Adigar,  193; 
town,  194;  chiefs,  ib.  fever,  196; 
palace,  ib.;  tombs,  198;  tunnel, 
199;  people,  321;  cruelty  of  king, 
322. 

Canterbury,  Archbishop,  let- 
ter to,  ii.  332, 

Capital  punishments,  i.  61. 

Capolee  village,  ii.  155. 

Caramnasa  river,  i.  87;  again,  233. 

Caravan  described,  i.  296;  com- 
plaints, 302. 

Carey,  Dr.,  Serampoor,  i.  81. 

Carlee  cave,  ii.  158;  bridge,  160. 

Carriages,  native,  i.  53. 

Casherpoor,  place  of  pilgrimage,  i. 
434. 

Cashi  divinity,  i.  435. 

Caste,  ii.  207;  miseries  of,  297; 
quarrels  about,  in  the  south  among 
Christians,  257. 

Catamaran,  ii.  210-11. 

Catechumen,  i.  443. 

Catteywar  silversmiths,  ii.  123 ;  em- 
igrants from,  130. 

Cattle  abundant  in  Bahar,  i.  194; 
swimming,  214. 

Cavendish,  Hon.  Richard,  at  Del- 
hi, i.  478. 

Catimpoor,  i.  318;  proposal  to  live 
at,  ii.  283. 

Cedars  m  Kemaoon,  i.  418. 

Central  India,  4th  presidency  in, 
ii.  58;  inhabitants  of,  293. 

Cesare,  Padre  Giulio,  i.  219, 
220. 

Ceylon,  population,  ii.  206;  reli- 
gion, ib.;  rivers,  204;  account  of, 
321;  again,  357. 

Chaliers  Caste,  ii.  180. 


Chalmer,  Mr.  Wm.  Andrew,  at 
Boglipoor,  i.  186;  character,  199. 

Chambers,  Sir  C.  ii.  170. 

Chamberlayne,  Mr.,  Baptist 
Missionary,  i.  421. 

Chamois  in  Himalaya,  i.  419,  420. 

Chandernagore,  i.  77;  again,  102. 

Chaplains,  inquiry  into  conduct  of, 
ii.  168;  limited  number  of,  256: 
rules  for  their  direction,  338. 

Chaplin,  Mr.  Wm.  sends  escort, 
ii.  157;  receives  the  Bishop  at 
Poonah,  160. 

Charcoal-burners,  ii.  143. 

Charuns,  history  of,  ii.  33;  customs, 
ib.;  one  a  dealer  in  horses,  81. 

Cheetao,  Pindarree  Chief,  anec- 
dote of,  ii.  87. 

Cheeta  Talao  station,  ii.  80. 

Chillumbrum,  temple  in,  ii,  352. 

Cheta  in  Ceylon,  ii.  193. 

Child-stealing,  i.  164. 

Chilkeah,  i.  433. 

Chinese  frontier,  i.  415. 

Chitpoor,  i.  58;  Nawab  of,  90. 

Chittagong,  account  of,  i.  146. 

Chittore  town,  ii.  43;  mad  woman, 
ib.;  castle,  46;  palace  in  a  lake, 
48;  anecdote  of  a  Rannee,  47; 
temple,  49;  pools  and  cisterns, 
49;  population,  50. 

Chinsiira  made  a  Missionary  sta- 
tion, ii.  340. 

Chitturia,  i.  200. 

Cholera  Morbus,  i.  45;  again,  ii. 
63. 

Cholmondeley,  Rev.  Charles  and 
Mrs.  letter  to,  ii.  275. 

Choice  Sirwan  station,  ii.  64;  heat, 
65. 

Chowbee  Serai,  i.  306;  extortions 
of  soldiers,  307. 

Chompna  village,  ii.  62;  misery  of 
inhabitants,  ib. 

Chunar,  i.  268;  fort  and  stone  cy- 
linders, 270;  dungeon,  272;  inva- 
lid station,  274;  church,  ii.  274. 

Chundna  river,  i.  134. 

Chiiprah,  i.  226;  Hindoo  ascetic, 
227;  floating-shops,  227;  request 
of  servants,  228. 

Churruck pooja  described,  i.  95. 

Church  of  England  gaining  popu- 
larity, ii.  278;  her  Liturgy,  ib. ; 
Missionary  Society,  meeting  of, 
i.  58 J  ii.  239. 


INDEX. 


387 


Churches,  Portuguese,  ii.  146. 

Christening  oi"  the  bishop's  young- 
est daujihier,  i  99. 

Christian    David     ordained,    i 
100;  complaint   against,   ii.  213; 
account  of,  261. 

Christians,  a  few  scattered  among 
the  mountains,  i.  440;  in  Delhi 
and  Agra,  489;  in  Lucknow,  353; 
in  the  Siutn,  ii.  320;  nominal  in 
Ceylon,  324;  increasing  in  the 
south  ol"  India,  353. 

Christmas-boxes,  i.  78. 

Chow 'V oka  Devi,  i.  428. 

Chowkee,  ii.  155;  again,  166. 

Chowringhe,  i.  55. 

Chowsa  town,  i   233. 

Cingalese,  indolence  of,  ii.  173;  or- 
nament roads  and  bungalows, 
173. 

Cinnamon  gardens,  ii.  177. 

Circular  road,  i.  58. 

•Civet  cat,  i.  82. 

Civil  servants'  char.icters,  ii.  286, 

Clergy,  introduction  to,  i.  54;  char- 
acter of,  ii.  309. 

C1.KVK1.A.ND,  Mr.,  i.  188;  monu- 
ment to,  194;  his  school  and 
corps,  196. 

Climate,  influence  of,  on  complex- 
ions, i.  78 

CoBBE,  Capt.  engaged  with  Bheels, 
ii.  78. 

Cobra  de  Capello,  i  63;  ii.  202. 

Cobra  Gnana,  ii    191. 

Coco-palms  described,  i.  44;  not 
found  north  of  Jeliinghey,  175; 
reappear,  ii.  86;  caravan  laden 
with  nuts,  81. 

Colabah  island,  ii.  168;  pier,  ib 

Colgony,  i-  194 

College,  Roman  Catholic,  ii.  153 

Colombo,  arrival  at,  ii.  177;  visita- 
tion, 179;  town,  181;  churches, 
ib;  address  fiom  clergy  of,  to  the 
Bishop,  203. 

Colombo,  tomb  of  Mr  ,  i.  153. 

CoLQUHouN,  Sir  Robart,  i.  417;  ac- 
companies the  Bishop  to  Chilkeah 
423—433;  his  opinion  of  Tandah, 
432. 

CoLQUHOUN,  Lady,  i.  417 — 429. 

C0LV1L1.E.  Sir  Charles,  ii   112.  163 

CoMBF.RMKUE,  Lord,  ii.  327-8.  353. 

CoMBERTviEHE,  Abbey,  i.  48. 

ComercoUy  river,  i.  170, 
Vol.  II. 


Concan,  tribes  on  the,  ii.  157, 

Colonization,  laws  against,  i.  234. 

Constantia  palace,  i.  330. 

Constajitinople,  gate  of,  i.  332. 

Converts,  ii.  288. 

Coosenhs  tribe,  i.  297. 

Coolies,  or  Kholies,  ii.  112. 

Coolies,   difficulty  in  obtaining,   i 
423. 

Coss  Minars.  i.  474. 

Co'sRiE,  Archdeacon,  meets  the 
Bishop,  i.  45;  accompanies  him 
on  his  visitation,  101;  his  business 
at  Boglipoor,  188:  vocabulary, 
199;  receives  ?  letter  from  a 
Brahmin,  204;  established  mission 
school  at  Benares,  255;  favourite 
with  the  natives,  ii.  289. 

Corpulency  admired,  i.  88. 

Cornelians,  ii.  123. 

CoRNwALLis's,  Lord,  settlement, 
i.  208;  monument,  .230. 

Corn,  dutie.s  on,  ii.  62. 

Cossypcor,  village,  i.  58. 

Cororaandel  coast,  ii.  211. 

Cotta.^  missionary  station,  ii.  181. 

Cotton  from  Dacca,  i.  145;  in  Bom- 
bay, ii.  168;  cotton-grass,  i.  234. 
j  Crab,  land,  ii.  161. 
I  Crocodile  first   seen,  i.   170;  large 
'      one,  212. 

CuivLiFFE,  Colonel,  i.  328. 

CUPREEM     I'.iUfcSEEH.     COHVert,    1. 

230. 
Currahftomh  of  Oamaul  Shek,  j.  300. 
Curruckpoor  hills,  i.    202;  height, 

204;  talc  found  on,  205. 
Cutch  horses,  i.  358;  ass,  ii.   152; 

invasion  of,  ii.  305. 

D. 

Dabla  town,  ii.  31;  castle,  35;  al- 
tercation at,  ib. 

Dak  journey,  i.  243;  to  Kairah,  ii. 
118;  no  regolar  dak,  ib.;  again, 
155. 

Dacca,  extent  of,  i.  143.;  course  of 
the  river  changed,  145;  ruins,  ib.; 
castle,  142;  professional  duties, 
153;  prisons,  ib  ;  lunatic  a.sylum, 
154;  women  embroider,  164;  de- 
scribed, ii.  264. 

Dacca,  Nawab  of,  visits  the  Bishop, 
i.  170;  charactei.   152;  kindness, 
155;  farewell  visit  to,  ib. 
33 


388 


INDEX. 


Dandees,  i.  128;  desertion  of,  210; 
one  drowned,  215. 

Dante,  i.  44. 

JDapoolie  village,  ii.  165. 

Datura  Stramonium,  i.  136. 

Davib,  Mr.  John,  i.  127;  indigo 
factor. 

Davis;  Major,  ii.  200;  his  tree,  201; 
Cylon. 

Dawson,  Captain,  ii.  188;  lays  the 
line  of  road,  190 

Debtors,  allowance  to,  i.  154. 

Decoits,  attack  of,  i.  159;  story  ex- 
aggerated, 162. 

Deckan,  population  of,  ii.  156; 
country  157;  government  of,  16.3; 
drought,  164;  population,  65;  cli- 
mate, ib. 

Deeolea,  town,  ii.  31. 

Deer,  i   502;  again,  507. 

Dehwan,  village,  ii.  123. 

Delhi,  buildings,  aqueduct,  Hu- 
maioon's  tomb,  i  457;  old  city, 
460;  shawl  manufactory,  462; 
palace,  463;  hall  of  audience, 
467;  confirmation  at,  473;  de- 
parture from,  474;  government, 
478;  pillar  of  black  metal,  ii.  ?03. 

Delhi,  Emperor  of,  i.  464; -presen- 
tation to  him,  464-5;  present;?  ex- 
changed, 465-6;  his  history,  471; 
made  a  tank  at  Jljmere,  ii.  37. 

Delhi,  Empress  of,  sends  presents, 
i.  470. 

Deosa,  i.  516;  fair  at,  ib. 

Devotees,  i.  103. 

Dhak  tree,  ii.  52. 

Dhoon,  valley  of,  i.  452. 

Dhotana  village,  i.  479. 

Diamond  harbour,  i.  45-6. 

DiBPiN  quoted,  ii.  284. 

Digah  farm,  i  225. 

Diha,  i.  281 ;  search  for  village,  282; 
meet  with  brahmin  watchmen,  ib. 

Dikhalee  village,  i.  432. 

Dil  Koushar  palace,  i.  329;  park, 
ib. 

Diocess,  duties  of,  ii.  241. 

Discovery  ship,  ii.  170. 

DoD,  Miss,  letters  to,  ii.  231-2  32. 

Dogs,  i.  126;  wild,  421. 

Dokpqh  village,  ii  128;  Bishop  pays 
boatmen,  129. 

Dooab.  decay  in,  i.  277;  bad  roads 
in,  298 

Doobee  village,  i,  514, 


Doodeah  village,  ii.  84. 

Doonga  village,  ii.  79. 

Dooniberra  peak,  ii.  196. 

Don  an,  Rev.  J.,  accompanies  the 
Bishop,  ii.  218. 

Douglas,  Hon.  Mrs.,  letters  to,  ii. 
243.  316. 

Dow  Arab,  i.  47. 

Drought,  ii.  84;  again,  92. 

Ducat,  Dr.  Charles,  Poonah,  ii 
162. 

Dum  Dum,  i.  65;  church  consecra- 
ted, 66. 

Durbar,  i,  85;  at  Jyepoor,  ii.  5-6. 

Dwarf,  i.  136. 


E. 


Eagles,  formidable,  i.  419;  supposed 
to  be  a  Condor,  452;  the  "  rok'" 
of  Sindbad,  452 

East  India  Company,  liberality  of, 
Preface,  i.  416. 

Elephants  at  Barrackpoor,  i.  60;  not 
allowed  near  Calmtta,  61;  com- 
mand their  drivers  have  over 
them,  ib.;  bathing,  144;  abound 
at  Dacca,  148;  starved,  322; 
sagacity,  392;  manner  of  killing 
tigers,  354;  traJJiing  for  fight,  ii. 
6;  baiting,  101;  shooting,  110; 
anecdotes  of,  ib.;  used  for  tortur- 
ing, 522. 

Elephanta  island,  ii.  139;  antiquity 
of,  ib. 

Elliott,  Mr.  Charles,  receives  the 
Bishop  at  Delhi,  i.  457;  presents 
him  to  the  Emperor.  463;  his  be- 
haviour to  the  Emperor,  472. 

Elliott,  Mr.  Charles  B.,  i.  456. 

Elpkinstcnk,  Hon.  M.,  account 
of  charcoal-burners,  ii.  144;  his 
bungr.1o-w,  157;  gives  farewell 
breakfast  to  the  Bishop,  107;  his 
character,  170-1-2;  again.  307. 

English  Government,  conduct  of, 
to  Niussulmans,  i.  90;  in  Central 
India,  ii.  58:  in  Qiizarai,  112. 

Escort  under  Hindoo  soubahdar,  i. 
350;  affected  by  cold,  516. 

"  Essence  of  owl,"  i.  385. 

Europeans  regarded  as  curiosities  in 
Oodeyj'Cor,  ii.  34;  speech  of  a 
girl,  ib. 

Exaggeration  great  among  Hindoos, 
i.  192, 


INDEX. 


389 


^^  Expectants,"  annoyance  of,  i. 
504;  one  described,  ib. 

F. 

Fagaiv,  Captain  Janies  JVusseera- 
bad,  ii.  30. 

Fakirs  on  the  river,  i.  120;  insane, 
263.  roasting  himself,  497. 

Falsitication,  proneness  of  natives 
■  to,  i   162. 

Famine,  ii.  130. 

Female  native  schools,  i.  71. 

Field,  Captain,  Buxar,  i,  228. 

Fiorin  grass,  i.  170. 

Fair  in  Kemaooriy  i.  418;  again,  ii. 
314. 

Fires  in  the  jungle  by  friction,  i.  447. 

Fireworks,  i.  80. 

Fire-flies,  ii.  196—199. 

Firoze's  walking-atick,  i.  460. 

Fisher,  Rev.  Henry,  i.  451;  his 
son,  ib. ;  another  son,  452;  his  con- 
verts, 454. 

Fishermen,  caste  of,  i.  45, 

Fish-traps  on  the  Ganges,  i.  175; 
mode  of  catciung,  432;  at  Umeer- 
ghw,  ii.  40;  abound  in  India,  253. 

Flowers  in  Ceylon,  ii.  175. 

FoRDE,  Mr.  Arthur  Nicholas,  i. 
440-1. 

Fort  iniliam,  ii.  224. 

Fox,  small,  i.  168. 

Fraxcklin,  Lieut. -Colonel  Wm., 
acquirements,  i.  198;  visits  the 
cave  at  Putter  Gotta,  202;  his 
Palibothra,  ib. 

Fraser,  Rev  William,  chaplain, 
Benares,  i.  248. 

Fraser,  Capt.  measures  the  Hima- 
laya, ii.  42. 

Free  press,  ii.  254. 

Freemasons,  i.  93. 

French  colonel,  history  of  a,  i.  489. 

French,  character  Of,  i.  490.  facto- 
ry at  Surut,  ii.  135  ;  manners, 
288. 

Frogs,  large,  i.  100. 

Frost,  effects  of,  ii.  24. 

Fruit-trees,  groves  of  signs  of  pros- 
perity, i.  443. 

Fruit,  boat  with,  i.  42. 

Funeral  piles,  i.  80. 

Furrah,  town,  i.  483. 

Furreedabad,  town,  i.  474. 

Furreedpoor  in  Mohilcund,  i.  372; 
enjoyments  of  travelling,  872. 


Furreedpoor,  i.  167,  town. 
Ftittehgunge,  i.  368,  viilage. 
Futteehj^oor  Sicri,  approach  to,  i. 

493:  ruins,  494:  palace,  ib.;  lake, 

495. 
Fulta  village,  i.  48:  again,  ii.  203. 
j  Futteehpoor  town,  i.  310;  beggars, 

311. 
Futwah    town,    i.    217  ;    grinding 

corn,  ib. 
Fyze  Musseeth,  convert,  i.  301; 

his  conversation  with  a  Hindoo, 

303. 


G. 


Gallows-tree  at  Almorah,  i.  413. 

Ganges  water  used  for  washing 
iciois,  i.  108;  lirst  view  of,  134; 
width  of,  139;  noise,  ib  ;  Hintloo 
geography  of,  183;  width,  203: 
called  Puddah  near  Furreedpoor, 
167  ;  width  in  Kernaoon,  447; 
inundation  of,  124. 

Gang  robbery,  i.  162. 

Gaol  calendar,  i.  164. 

Gaoivala,  i.  117;  again,  170;  caste 
of,  lb. 

Garden  Reach,  1.  52;  again,  ii.  222. 

Gaughiir  Mount,  height  of,  i.  428; 
pass  the  neck,  405. 

Gaiiima,  village,  ii.  126. 

Gaziodeennuggur ,  i.  456;  town. 

Gentoos,  Hindoos  called,  ii.  124. 

Gerard,  Captain,  ii.  40;  his  cha- 
racter, 41  ;  his  measurement  of 
the  Himalaya,  ib. 

Ghats,  ascent  of,  ii.  156;  beauty  of, 
166. 

Ghdzecpoor,  i.  234;  Nawab's  pa- 
lace, ib.;  plan  for  new  church, 
236;  eastern  and  western  Gothic 
compared,  237;  palace,  ib.;  rose 
gardens  and  altar,  2^9. 

Ghee,  consumption  of,  i.  45;  a  lux- 
ury, 17. 

Ghorkhas,  i.  413;  government  of, 
414;  visit  from  their  Vakeel,  421; 
history  of  a  boy,  431. 

Ghosts  drinking,  i.  134. 

Ghnncaf,  i.  419;  province, 

Ghyal  at  Jiarrackpoor,  i.  61. 

GiBB,  Mr.  his  account  of  Western 
and  Central  India,  ii.  43-4. 

GisBORNE,  Mrs.,  her  school,  ii. 
206.       . 


390 


INDEX. 


Gipseys,  i.  114;  again,  171;  their 
eastern  name,  203;  description, 
ib.;  eiicampment  of,  ii.  19. 

Glenie,  Rev.  J.  M.  acting  Arch- 
deacon, ii  172;  lends  his  carriage 
188;  accompanies  the  Bishop  to 
Candy,  ib. 

Goa,  priests  at,  ii.  153. 

Goldfinches  in  Kemaoon,  i.  419. 

GooDE,  Rev.  Ambrose,  receives 
the  liishop.  ii.  118. 

Gooiun  described,  i.  125. 

Goomty,  ferry  of  river,  i.  246;  scene 
in  village,  ib. 

Goonh,  a  deer,  i.  376. 

Gooroos,  i.  5S. 

Gorabundar,  ii.  143;  church,  145. 

Gossain,  i.  192;  another,  278. 

Goiir,  ruins  of,  184 

Gourmaii  Singh,  Rajah  vi-^its  the 
Bishop,  i.  388;  his  history,  389; 
joins  tiger-hunts,  391.' 

Govcinnienl-house,  Calcutta,  i.  48; 
members  of,  their  attention  and 
kindness,  ii.  225;  at  Bombay, 
151 ;  at  JIadras,  213. 

Gra>iam,  Captain,  i.  195;  his  po- 
pularity, 196. 

Granary  i.  219;  political  discussion 
ib. 

Grant,  Captain,  at  Delhi,  i.  450; 
again,  464. 

Grant,  Captain,  in  the  Decan,  ii.  165 

Grant  Captain  James  Ludovick,  at 
Madras,  ii.  212. 

Greeks  at  Dacca,  i.  146. 

Granville,  Lord,  letters  to,  ii.  313. 
328. 

Gresley,  Lieutenant  Fraacis,  i.  161. 

Gret ,  Sir  Charles,  ii.  215;  again,  ii. 
327;  again,  ii.  352. 

Gros^enor,  l-.arl,  his  seat,  i.  333. 

Giijrowlie,  village,  i.  444. 

Gzmgrowr,  town,  ii.  42;  its  woods, 
ii.  42-3. 

Gi'zn/tf,  dearth  in,  ii.  77;  entrance 
into,  79;  parade  in  94;  climate  of 
100  ;  inhabitants  of,  J 09  ;  state 
of  knowledge  in,  112;  fertility 
and  revenue,  113;  uuhealthiness 
of,  120;  no  groves  in,  124;  intense 
heat,  ib.;  march  excites  curiositv 
in,  125. 
Gltofparah,  village,  i.  141. 

Gv.atkin,  Mr.  John,  at  Madras,  ii. 
212. 


H. 

Hafez  Remut  Khan,  anecdote  of,  i< 
369. 

Haif-castepopulation,  increase  of,  i. 
64;  again,  ii.  257. 

Hal  bed,  Mr.  Nathaniel  J.  at  Mora- 
dabad,  i.  440. 

Haliowell,  Rev.  J.  JIadras,  ii.  217. 

Hamilton,  Captain,  Culombo,  ii.  188. 

Hastmgs,  Marquis,  revival  of  Pu^ 
harree  school,  i.  195;  reforms 
their  corps,  ib.;  visits  their  coun- 
try, 197i  conduct  vo  the  emperor 
of  Delhi,  264;  again  471 ;  removes 
marble  bath,  487;  portrait  of. 
334;  memorial  to  341;  popularity, 
ii  228;  his  roads,  ib. 

Hastmgs,  <X  arren,  conduct  to  the 
emperor  of  Delhi,  i.  264;  his  po» 
pularity,  289 

Hatchment,  nindoo,  i.  78. 

Hats  like  umbrellas,  i.  131. 

Haruewicke,  Major  Gen.  Thomas, 
his  house  and  Xviuseum,  i.  64*5. 

Harknes.s,  Captain  Henry,  com- 
mands escort  at    •  adras  ii.  216. 

Haubroe,  Mrs.  ii.  346. 

Havi.lbagk,  i.  417-18;  character  of 
inhabitants,  418;  vegetation,  ib.; 
lines  for  sepoys,  417 

Hawkins,  Mr.  i-rancif,  'AiBarcilly, 
i.  373;  long  residence  in  India, 
374  ;  account  of  Rohiilas,  ib.; 
country  house,  376. 

Hawtayne,  Hev.  J  oE&ciates  at  St, 
Javiesi^s,  and  converts  a  Hindoo, 
i.  66:  attends  the  Bishop  to 
schools,  72. 

Hay,  ifobert  William,  ii.  238. 

Heat,  ii   260;  again,  352. 

Heber,  Mrs.  Letters  from  the  Bi- 
shop to  his  mother,  ii.  248:  321. 

Heber,  Mr.,  Letter  from  the  Bi- 
shop to  his  brother,  ii.  325. 

Hecatombs  of  animals  otFered,  ii. 
293. 

Herbert,  Captain  James  Dowling,  i. 
417:  again,  i.  436. 

Hill,  Hon.  1).,  Madras,  attention  of, 
ii  347. 

Hi}!  forts,  ii.  161. 

Hills,  I'hape,  of,  i.  515. 

Hilsa  fish,  i.  129;  again,  130. 

HUleh  and  the  Hrz  ul  jYi.'hrovz,  I 
183. 


INDEX. 


391 


Himalaya,  first  view  of,  i.  381; 
again,  382;  passage  of  the  nearest 
range,  340;  last  view  of  429;  vi- 
sible ivom  Meerut,  451;  way  of 
travelling  in  ii.  316;  described, 
347. 

Hindoo  dead  bodies,  i.  42;  their 
treatment  of  cattle,  52;  character 
of,  58-9;  mode  of  eating,  108; 
character,  224;  patients,  137;  hos- 
pital lor  animals,  ii.  182;  eat  flesli, 
239;  character,  240;  system  of  as- 
tronomy, 299;  feelings  towards 
Government,  i.  314. 

Hindoo  idols,  i.  73;  pagoda  on  Ma- 
labar ^oiuX,  ii.  48. 

Hindoo  creditor,  charactor  of,  i.  155. 

Hindoo's  reasons  for  remaining  at 
JyepooVf  ii.  16. 

Hindoostanee  pentateuch,  i,  93;  li- 
turgy, 348. 

Hindooism  prevalent  in  Agra  and 
Delhi,  i.  480. 

Hindostan,  commencement  of,  i. 
190,  character  of  the  people,  193. 

Hodgson,  Major,  measures  Hima- 
laya, ii.  42. 

Home's,  Mr.  pictures,  i.  33©;  ac- 
count of,  ib. 

Hood,  Hon.  Lady,  [Mrs.  Stuart 
Mackenzie,]  i.  337. 

Hooghly  river,  current  of,  i.  46. 

Iloolee,  festival  of,  ii.  51;  Qgain,  63; 
again,  66,  73.  83. 

Ho/at,  town,  i.  479. 

Hot  winds,  \i.  102;  again,  112. 

Hornby,  Rev.  E.  T.  S.,  Letter  to,' 
ii.  256 

Horse,  of  stiaw,  i.  137;  purchase  of, 
293;  horse  dealers,  ib.;  for  ser- 
vants, ib.,  lies  down,  308;  Arab 
horses,  ii.  249. 

Horton,  Right  Hon,  R.  J.  Wilmot, 
preface,  vii.  Letters  to,  ii.  237. 
294   305.  354. 

Household  servants,  i.  54;  establish- 
ment tor  child,  55;  character  of, 
59. 

Howrah,  \.  58. 

Humaioon,  tomb  of,  i.  458-459. 

Human  sacrifice,  i.  165;  again,  ii. 
240. 

Huniman,  tlie  monkey  general,  i. 
295. 

Hurgila,  account  of,  i.  55. 

Hurricane  at  Ajmere,  ii.  27. 


Hurry  Mohun  Thakoor,  ii.  229;  his 
villa,  ib. 

Hutchinson,  Captain,  i.  451;  Cal- 
cutta. 

Hyaena  tamed,  i.  420. 

Hyde,  Mr.,  i.  328. 

Hymns,  the  Bishop's  sung,  i.  451. 

Hyne,  Dr  George,  appointed  physi- 
cian, ii.  220.  347. 


Jackall,  cries  described,  i.  51;  act 
as  scavengers,  55;  Hmdoos  wash 
in  the  blood,  75;  fearless,  190; 
noise,  203. 

Jain  temple,  i.  259;  sectaries,  ib.; 
temple,  ii.  19;  one  deserted,  74-5; 
at  Kairah,  121. 

Jalap  plant,  i.  162. 

Janghuirabad,  i.  278. 

Jats,  claim  the  affix  of  Singh,  i.  481; 
woman,  504;  zealous  Hindoos, 
505;  courageous,  509;  in  Raj- 
pootana,  ii.  59;  described,  306. 

Java  ponies,  i.  266. 

Jaffi-er  Gunge,  i,  140;  agam  167. 

Ice,  first  seen,  i.  406;  manner  of 
making,  441. 

Idolatry,  effects  on  the  mind,  ii.  297; 
of  Hindoos  the  worst,  ib. 

Idols  near  Calcutta,  i.  89;  one  going 
to  Bindrnbund,  512;  custom  of 
throwing  them  into  the  Ganges, 
517. 

Jehanguire,  tomb  of,  i.  461. 

Jerrdda  village,  ii.  93. 

Jervis,  Lieutenant,  Bombay,  ii.  139. 

Jewellery  of  natives,  i.  168. 

Jeyt,  village,  i.  4rf0. 

Iguana,  large,  i.  138. 

Jhalloda,  ci  y,  ii.  81. 

Illness,  i.  352;  of  children,  166. 

Imam,  visit  of,  i.  305;  history,  ib. 

Lnambara,  i.  332. 

Imperial-tree,  i.  438. 

India,  ric!\ness  or",  i.  277;  prepara- 
tions for  travelling  in  Western,  i. 
490;  natives  civilized,  ii.  295;  in- 
tercourse with  Europe,  ii.  296; 
receive  early  intelligence,  299; 
reasons  for  and  against  living  in, 
ii.  307-8;  chmate,  316;  again,  320; 
different  nations  in,  316. 
33*. 


392 


INDEX. 


Jameses,  Saint,  Church,  consecra- 
ted, i.  65. 

Indian  death-watch,  i.  124. 

Indigo,  planters  of,  i.  117,  at  ention 
of  two,  118;  woiks  visited,  li9, 
works;  ib.  rent  of  ground,  125, 
works,  127;  planters,  ii.  286. 

Indore  merchant,  anecdote  of,  ii-  33. 

Indraput,  i.  460. 

Infanticide,  fe^'.ale,  ii.  69;  again, 
197. 

Inglis,  Sir  Robert  Harry,  Pref.  vii. 
letter  to,  ii.  255. 

Intended  lour  in  the  south,  ii.  351. 

Inundation,  near  Dacca,  i.  158: 
effects  of,  182. 

Joudpoor  castle,  ii.  29. 

Journey  detailed,  ii.  291. 

Jowrah,  the  Eagmahal  chiei,  i.  195. 

Irrigation  by  wells,  i.  501. 

Irving,  Rev.  John,  i.  486:  kindness 
of,  489 

Irving,  Mrs.  kindness  of,  i.  491. 

Islurnubab  to^'-n,  i.  146. 

Juggernauth^  ii.  223 

Jumna  rivt  >•,  v.  ater  bad,  i.  475;  des- 
cribed, 485.  again,  489. 

Jiimna  M'usjeed,  i.  457;  described, 
463:  again,  486. 

Jujnshecd,  i.  435. 

Jungle-grass,  hi-ight  of,  i.  141, poultry, 
427. 

Jungleterry  district,  i.  205. 

Junma  Osiiu  e,  fr-stival  of,  i.  215. 

JsyepGor,  c'.>rit?j>ai'ative  security  of,  i. 
508;  couiitry  inffiior  to  Rajpoo- 
tana,  513;  raarcii  t.i,  515;  b<-si<r ged 
l)y  Ameer  Kliau,  520;  clini!»te,  ii. 
3;  Inwn  and  paitict,  5-6;  history  of 
cciurl,  9;  city  dt scribed.  11. 

jyepoor,  liannee  of,  sends  escort,  i. 
508;  ber  conduct  in  the  Hesidenl, 
ib.  bv4inv>our  of  her  Vakeel,  513; 
presents  from,  ii.  8.  violent  con- 
duci  9;  btr  Gooroo,  10;  murders 
her  aiu  lulcfMt,  1 4;  her  service 
disliked,  20;  sends  message  21;  ad- 
vice given  ii>  tise  Bishdj),  21-2. 

Jye  Singh  buiit  Jyepoor,  ii.  11;  and 
Umeer,  12. 

K. 

Kadoogarnarvon.  irass,  ii.  193. 
Kairah  t"wn,  ii.  118;  cburcb  conse- 

ci  ai'd.  119,  school  and  libraries,  ii. 

119-20. 
Kali,  festival  of,  i,  74;  description  of, 

192. 


Kalingera  village,  ii.  73. 
Keys,  Rev.  Rob.  Young,  ii.  100, 
Kede^viuth    in     Himalaya,    i.    382; 

beigbl.  4l4. 
Kedgeree,  i.  43;  pots  used  as  floats 

for  palanquins,  321. 
"  Kebama''  quoted,  i.  188:  again,  ii. 

218. 
Kemaoon,  i-n'eparations  for  journey 

to,  i.  377;  subject  to  earthquakes, 

416;  bare  of  wood,  418;  population, 

4l9j  Raja  of,  ib.;  fire  by  friction  in, 
^447. 
Kennery  caves,  ii.  147;  view  from, 

149. 
Kennery  jn  Ceylon,  ii.  204. 
Kerowlie,  Tbannadar  of,  i.  493;  his 

certificate  from  Lord  Lake,  ib. 
Khanivu  village,  i.  496. 
Khasyas,  i.  397;  encampment  of,  ib.; 

peasantry  402;  caste,  404;  mode  of 

Ciirrjing  burthens,    423;   poverty, 

420. 
Kliizr,  oft'  ring  to,  u  134. 
Kholie,  or  Coolie,  ii,  90.  sepoys,  108; 

history  of,  109;  character,  110. 
Kidderpoor  suburb,  i.  52. 
KiBlas,  turf-buiit,  i.  1.^7. 
KhnJOIiO-co/cce,  ji.  133- 
King's  house,  Ceylofi,  ii.  177. 
Kiahenghur  town,  ii.  23;  difficulties 

at,  ib.;  cliaracter  of  Raja,  24. 
Kiii<;lu's  Mr.  R,  D,  swrii;eon  at  Bar- 

eily,  opinion  of  jungle  fever,  i.  379. 
Knox,  Brigadier  .\!ex.  at  JVnsseera- 

bad,  his  account  of  the  Mhairs,  ii. 

27;  confirmation,  29 
Kuudtzon  family,  i.  76. 
Koosilla    rivei',    i.    417;    suspension 

bridge,  ib.  nieniioned  again,  428. 
Kootiib  sahib,  i    468. 
Kr.'ftinj;,    Colonel,  governor    of  Se- 

raoipoor,  i.  76. 
KtlleanpGor,  i .  387;    malaria  fever, 

ib. 
Kulleaiipoor,  stormy  journey    to   i. 

312. 


Labour,  cheapness  of,  159.  J 

Ladak,  i.    415;  people  of,  459;  pre-     \ 
sents  from  to  Knjjjand,  ii.  296. 

Lake,  Lord,  his  behaviour  to  Em- 
peror of  Delhi  i.  472.  477;  his  de- 
feat at  Bhnrtpoor.  327. 

Lalljee,  painter,  i.  255. 

Lambrick,  Rev.  Samuel,  Ceylon^  ii. 
182. 


INDEX. 


393 


Lancdt  native  name  for  Ceylon,  ii. 
87. 

Lancasterian  system,  i.  G8. 

L'^u-'-lords  anti  tenants,  i.  89. 

Liindseer,  Mr.  John,  engraving  by, 
i.  155 

Language,  eastern  words  transplan- 
ted into  English,  i.  78. 

Latteen  saiis,  ii.  l;38. 

Layard,  Mr,  Charles,  ii.  172;  his 
brt- akl'ast,  204^  his  son  accompanies 
the  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  208. 

Leat-insecfs,  ii.  20S. 

Lebada  described,  i.  438. 

Lee,  Mr.  Dacca,  i.  147. 

Leeches,  flying,  ii.  208 

Leechees  described,  i.  100. 

Leemree  village,  ii.  83. 

Lent  k'Clures,  i,  91. 

Lepers,  misery  of,  i.  482. 

Leprosy  comnmn,  i.  69:  on  boatmen 
on  the  river  and  at  JMadras,  i.  120. 

Leverets  brou,H,ht,  i.  300. 

Leycester,  Mr.  William,  i.  440. 

Lsyden's  "  Scenes  oflnfancy,"  i.  477. 

Linghara  worship,  i.  192. 

Lions  in  Kemaoon,  i.  380;  none  in  the 
south  ot  India,  ii.  219. 

Lizards,  ii.  149. 

Lockitt,  Captain,  Luckiio-w,  i.  347. 

•'  Lodge  in  a  garden  ot  cucumbers," 
i.  137;  again,  i.  1 69. 

Longevity  i-are,  i,  .361. 

Looko  Banda,  Candian,  ii.  193. 

Lorrinite  in  "  Kehama,"  i.  438. 

Lowther,  Mr.  Robert,  Jiundiske/ir, 
i.  454 

Lucka  freet'y  district,  i.  279. 

lAicknoio,  entrance  into,  i.  324;  resi- 
dent's house,  326,  influenza,  327; 
menagerie,  329;  civility  of  peo[)!e, 
331;  palace  lor  widows,  333;  popu- 
lation;  347. 

Lumley,  Lieut.  Colonel  Jas.  K.  ii.  CO; 
increases  the  escorts,  61. 

Lushington,  Mr.  Jas.  Steph.en,  i.  210; 
accompanies  the  Bishop,  i.  296;  re- 
main^at  Luckiioxv,  349;  rtjnins  at 
Delfii,'i:58:  i>reseMted  t'>  the  Empe- 
ror, 463.  returns  to  lAicknow,  495* 

Luxuries  ot  the  east  described,  ii   19. 

Lynxes  at  Barrackpoor,  i.G2;iu  Hi- 
malaya, 407. 

M. 

^Iflcdonald,  captain,  ii.  55;  proposed 
route  to  liombay,  ib.;  liis  Moon- 
shee,  85.  8G. 


Mac  Clintock,  Mr.,  i.  57. 

Macleod,  Mr.  Norman,  at  BenaTes, 

kindness  of,  i.  242. 
Mac  Mahon,  Lady,  i.  328. 
Mad  woman  at.  Chi  (tore,  ii.  46. 
Madras,   view  of,   ii.  210:  landing, 
211;  professional  duties,  12;  houses, 
213;  servants,  215;  climate,  ib.;  de- 
parture    from,     ib.;    clergy    and 
schools,  213;   Government-house, 
ib. 
Jitaha-bali  poor,  ruins  and  templejof, 
ii.  219. 

Maharattas,  plaiiiness  of,  ii.  18;  op- 
pression of,  72,  affect  plainness  in 
dress,  86;  horse,  59;  banner  and 
kettle-drum,  126. 

Jlfahim,  town,  ii.  150;  wood  and  fer- 
ry, 153. 

Mahommedans,  character  of,  ii.  247; 
religion,  297-8. 

Mainwaring,  Rev.  E.,  liombay,  ii. 
1 68. 

JMalabar-point,  ii.  151. 

Malcolm,  Sir  John,  character  of,  i. 
502;  arrangements  at  Jdahoah, 
514;  his  Central  India,  ii.  32.  39. 
51;  his  liistoi-y  of  a  Maharatta  play, 
i.  519;  raises  corps  of  Bljeels,  ii.  57; 
character  as  Governor,  58;  at 
Eans'ivarra,  9- 

Maldivian  boats,  i.  43;  again,  51. 

Alallaoon  vilhige,  i.  352. 

Alulwah,  European  vegetables  in,  ii. 
60;  dialect  in,  67;  police  of,  78. 

Mangoes,  described,  i.  100;  trees; 
430. 

Mansbach,  Mv.  \  76. 

Man  watching  his  cucumbers,  279. 

Mandar,  ruins,  i.  202. 

Marichitieel  tree,  i.  51. 

Manning,  Captain  William,  i.  51; 
leaves  the  Bishop,  73;  character, 
ib.  and  ii.  237 

Manners  of  the  people,  i.  437;  shy, 
ib.  clamours  for  justice,  438;  look 
to  the  Englisk  for  help,  448;  in- 
stance of  good  feeling,  449. 

Mar  Simeon,  ii.  214. 

Mar  Abraham,  ii.  214;  again,  343. 

Mar  Athanasius,  ii.  214;  again,  350. 
his  quarrels;  ib. 

Marriage  procession,  i,  .92;  another, 
503;  another,  ii.  21. 

Marmots,  i.  420. 

Marshman,  Dr.  i.  81;  opinion  of 
Suttee.s,  ib. 

Martin,  General  Claude,  i.  330;  his 
tomb,  ib. 


394 


INDEX. 


Marwar,  ii.  29;  bullocks,  ib. 

Massacre  at  Candy,  ii.  200, 

Master,  Mr.  Gilbert,  C.  of  Dacca, 
message  from,  i,  142;  his  kind- 
ness, ib.;  attention  to  the  Nawab, 
147;  popularity,  162;  his  kindness 
again,  ii.  271. 

Masuli  boat,  ii.  2l0. 

Matoonga,  cantonment,  ii.  142. 
chapel,  167. 

Matabunga  river,  i.  105;  rapids, 
*121,  122. 

MattacollyrwGv,  i.  128,  town,  130. 

Maungunga  town,  i.  512. 

Maunpuor  town.  i.  512. 

Mayor,  Rev.  R.  ii.  172;  his  station, 
205:  Baddagame  again,  328. 

Mayor,  llev.  John,  letter  to,  ii. 
323 

Meade,  Captain,  Meerut,  i.  453. 

jyfeagunge  fort,  i.  352. 

Mecazenas,  Rev.  J.  i.  84. 

Medical  skill,  the  Bishop's  asked,  i. 
445;  again,  448;  for  horses,  448. 

Meer  Israf  Ali,  i.  156;  visit  to  ib. 
attention  of,  ii.  271. 

Meerut  church,  i.  451;  climate,  ib.; 
school  and  hospital,  453;  native 
congregation,  ib. 

Meilapoor ,  suburb  of,  ii.  216. 

Men  fighting,  ii.  18. 

Meriton,  Mr  Henry,  Superintend- 
ent of  Marine,  Bombay,  ii.  170. 

Meru  mount,  i.  382;  described, 
410;  height,  414. 

Metcalfe,  Sir  Charles,  his  conduct 
to  the  Emperor  of  Delhi,  i.  472. 

Mewatlees  tribe,  i.  483. 

Mtyuiar,  want  of  rain  in,  ii.  51. 

Mhair  tribe,  i.  27;  corps  raised,  ib. 

Mhowa-tree,  ii.  73;  iermented 
juict;,  63. 

JHhye  river,  ii.  68;  passage  of,  106; 
estuary  of,  126;  passage  of,  ib. 

Myhsrie  river,  fi.  79;  again,  S3; 
another  of  the  same  name,  90. 

Middleton,  Bishop,  i  71;  tablet  to, 
ii.  181;  issues  letter  to  Clergy, 
332;  travels  in  the  south,  351. 

Milk-maids  dancing,  i.  480. 

Mill,  Rev  W.  Principal  of  Bishop's 
College  meets  the  Bishop,  i.  45; 
endeavours  to  converse  with  a 
Brahmin;  44;  his  character,  ii. 
340. 

Mill  for  rice,  i.  50. 


Millet,  thrashed,  i.  172. 

Milman,  Rev.  H.  H.  i.  371. 

Minarets,  none  in  Calcutta,  i.  95, 

Mission  school  at  Candy,  ii.  198; 
Cotta,  181;  at  Baddagame,  205; 
address  to  and  answer  from  the 
Bishop,  182,  187. 

Missionary  church  at  Mirzapoor, 
i.  57. 

Missionary  stations,  ii.  206. 

Mitford,  Mr.  i.  153. 

Mocha  stones,  ii.  123. 

jtlohanna  river,  i.  128;  again,  183. 

Mohout  beats  his  wife,  ii.  82. 

Mohunpoora  village,  i.  518;  diffi- 
culty in  procuring  forage,  518. 

Mompezier  caves,  ii.  150. 

Monghyr,  i.  305;  fort,  206;  cutlery, 
ib.  Zemindarries,  208. 

Monkeys,  i.  329;  disturb  bees' nest, 
ii,  75. 

Monson,  Colonel,  his  retreat,  ii.  32. 

"  Montagnes  Russes"  of  mason- 
ry, ii.  230. 

Monsoon,  ii.  154. 

Mongomerie,  Captain,  Rajmahah 
1.  195. 

Moodeliers,  ii.  173. 

Moorcroft,  Mr.  i.  415. 

Moore,  Hon  R.  F.  sends  servants, 
ii.  22;  his  house,  Ajmere,  27. 

Moradabad,  i.  439;  hospital,  441. 

Moreton,  ii.  279. 

Morier,  Mr.  James,  visits  Secun- 
dria,  193. 

Morris,  Rev.  Church  missionary,  i. 
255. 

Morrison,  Colonel,  i.  224. 
Mountain  ravines,  ii.  106. 
Mosiquito  curtains,  i.  46. 
Motee  Musjeed,  i.  486. 
JMouzabad  lown,  ii.  19. 
Mullberi)-tiet^,  dwarf,  i.  122. 
Muliaisiia,  i.  444. 

Aiullaoiv  village,  (irougiit  at,    ii,  81. 
Mundiserai,  i.  308,  rain  at"  ib. 
Munro,  Sir    rhomas,  li.  215;   kind- 
ness, 
Munro,  Lady,  ii.  ;347. 
Mustard-seed,  i.  116. 

Musselnians,  prejudices  of,  47,  men- 
dicants, 136;  Ihtir  religion  mi.xing 
with  their  actions,  173;  legend  of 
saint,  189;  tomb,  ib;  influence  of 
their  Imams  and  MouUahs,  163; 
encounter  with  suwarr,  358;  their 


INDEX. 


395 


governox'S  better  than  Hindoo  go- 
vernors, ii.  59;  their  rea'sons  tor 
leiiving  Jyei^oor,  16;  their  l>reju- 
dice,  167;  described,  258;  their  re- 
ligion,  297-8. 

J\hittra  town,  i.  481;  officers  shoot- 
ing monkeys^  481;  church  service, 
lb. 

INIynas,  nests  of,  i.  107. 

N. 

Nach  described,  i.  66;  girls,  ii.  lOlj 

again,  107;  man,  142. 
Nacoda  of  4rab  ship,  \.  59. 
Nagari  tirst  iieard,  ii.  86. 
Namdar  Khun,  ii.  98. 
Native    Schools  of  (he  Society   for 
Promoting   CUnstian  Kno-.v ledge, 
i.   72:  .female    schools,    ii.    70-1; 
free-school,  67,  female  schools,  ii. 
235.       . 
Natives,   their  timidity,  i.  88;  their 
confi'ience  in  Europeans,   yi;  in- 
troduced at  phe  Bishop's  party,  ib. 
their  familiarity  with  Europeans, 
125;  instances  of  their  charity  20i; 
their  idaas  of  the  Bishop  of  Cal- 
cutta, 263;  not  jealous  of  his  arri- 
rival,  ib-  averse  from  British  rule, 
254;  cwtiverts,  454;  sovereigns,  ii. 
58;  houses,  227;  imitate  the  Eng- 
lish, 228;  again.   239;  approve  of 
English  schools,  ib.  anecdotes  of, 
344. 
Native  removed  from  his  regiment 

for  conversion,  i.  454. 
Navigation  of  river  betv^een  Cal- 
cutta and  Ducca,  i.  119;  simple, 
on  the  Ganges,  139.  , 

Nawa3  GujiGE,  village,  i.  158. 
Nawal.  Singh,  i.  '622. 
Neave,  Mr    John,  at  Shahjehan- 

j)oor,  1.  362. 
Nedjeed,  horse,  i.  421,  443. 
Neehijhaus,  i.  330. 
JVeel^kurry  hills,  ii.  347. 
Neem-tree,  i.  51. 

JVeenihaira  town,  ii.  51;   govern- 
ment, 52,  53. 
JVeemuck  cantonment,  ii.  54;  con- 

firmation,  60. 
yJVerbuJda  river,  passage  of,  ii.  132; 
J\''crriad town,  ii.  113;  heat  at,  114; 
Nestorian  Christians,  i.  377. 
NicoL,  Rev    Dr.  Alex.,  translator 

of  dialogue,  i.  162. 
Night-march,  and  recollections,  i. 
308. 


Night-blindness,  ii.  50. 

JVinevah.,  tomb  of  Yunua,  (Jonas,) 
i.  183. 

A'tzum-ul-deen,  i.  461. 

Nook,  Mxjsseeah,  convert,  i.  440.  , 

NoRTHMORE,  Rev.  Thos.  Welby, 
at  Dinapoor,  i.  224. 

North- westers,  ii.  261. 

JVundidevi,  in  Himilaya,  i.  405; 
height,  414;  etfect  of  sunset, 
425;  smoke  from  it,  436;  query, 
volcanic  ?  ib. 

JVusseerahad,  i.  503;  bearers  re- 
fuse to  go  further,  491 ;  described, 
ii.  28;  confirmation,  29;  departure 
from  and  society  of,  30. 

Nutmeg-tref,  i.  69. 

Nuzzur  prUented,  i.  323. 


O- 


Oak,  in  botanic  gardens,  i.  70. 
Observatory,  Hindoo,  i.  258. 
OcHTERLONV,  the  late  Sir  David, 
behaviour  to  Emperor  of  Delhi, 
i.  472;  agent  to  Governor-Gene- 
ral, 501;  his  camp,  ib.;  his  Moon- 
shee,  502;  hisjiouse  at  JVeemuchr, 
ii.  60;  accedes  to  the  Rannee's  de- 
mands,   10;    commences  war  in 
Rajpootana,  305;  meets  the  bi- 
shop, i.  518;  his  history,  519. 
Oifenders  sentenced   to  labour,    i. 

61. 
Okeden","  Mr.  Parry,  Moradatad, 

i.  444;  calls  on  the  bishop,  442. 
Okul-doonga,  village,  i    429.   cli- 
mate, 430;  huts  for  travellers,  ib. 
"   Oliver     Newman,"     Southey's 

Poem  of,  ii.  345. 
Onnaw,  village,  i.  320. 
Oodeypoor,  district    ii.  31;  suffers 
from  Pindarries,  32;  history  of, 
44. 
OoTiANCANDV,ii.  191;  bungalow, 

ib. 
Opium,   manner   of   collecting,   ii. 

03. 
Order  of  the  Madras  government 
with   reference  to  native  Chris- 
tians, ii.  357;  again,  358. 
Orphan  female  school,  i.  64. 
Otters  kept  like  dogs,  i.  130;  used 

for  fishing,  132. 
Oiide,   King    of,    sends   escort,   i- 
320; ,  sends    ins    ofl&cer,     323; 


396 


INDEX. 


houses,  329;  palace,  333;  mini- 
ster, 326;  bishop  breakfasts  witii, 
333;  conversation,  335;  his 
crown,  ib.;  described,  ib.;  go- 
vernment order  respecting  pre- 
sents, ib.;  breakfasts  with  the  J^e- 
sident,  338;  attends  his  marriage, 
ib.;  character  of,  340. 

Oude,  character  of  people,  i.  332; 
government  of,  340,  343;  popu- 
lation, 341,  armed  peasantry,  ib. 

Oudunpoor,  i.  361;  beggar,  361; 
conversation  with  merchant,  362. 

OvANs,  Captain  Charles,  his  maps, 
ii.  108. 

OusELEY,  Sir  Gore,  i.  173;  visits 
Secundria,  193.         • 


PageTj  Rev.  Mr.,  tomb  of,  i.  153. 
Paget,  Sir  Edward,  his  conduct  to 

the  Emperor  of  Delhi,  i.  472. 
Paglapwl,  near  Dacca,  i.  155. 
Palanqueens,  prices  of,  i.  56. 
Pallet,  town,  ii.  30. 
Palmer    and    Co.,    their    indigo 

works,  i.  128. 
Palmer   Mr.,   conversation  with 

Bheels.  ii.  41. 
Pattura,  h  176,  204. 
Palms  re-appear,  ii.  85. 
Palmyra  tree,  i.  50. 
Panchway,  i.  44. 
Panchelwas,  village,  ii.  68.    carts 

described,  ib. 
Panwellet,  ii.  155 — 166;  river,  ib. 
Parish,  Hev.  Wm.  Dacca,  i.  145. 
Parian  dog,  i.  413.  424. 
Pareil,   government    house    at,   ii. 

150;  garden,  152. 
Parry,   the  late  Mr.  Edward,  ii. 

242. 
Parsees  thrive  at    Sural,  ii.    136; 

their  worship,   150;   their  burial 

ground,  151. 
Parsons,  Rev.  .Joseph,  i.  54. 
Patna,  i.  218;  gardens,  ib;  hacke- 
ries, 222;  no  burial  ground,  ib. 
Paton's  route,  i.  443. 
Peacocks,  wild,  i.  376;  again,  502; 

peculiarity  of  ib. 
Pearls,  ii.  169;  fishery,  177. 
Peasantry  aimed,  229;  described,ib. 
Peepul-tree,  i.  513. 
Peerpointee,  tomb  of   Mussulman 

saint,  i.  189;  cave,  190. 


Pelissier,  Monsieur,  Governor   of 

Chundervajore,  i.  79. 
Penny,  Colonel,  rrieets  the  bishop, 

Muttra,  i.    481. 
Penrhyn,  Mr.  E.  i.  75. 
Perjui/y  common,  i.  165. 
Persain  .Secretary  attends  Durhav, 

\.  85;  his  duties,  91. 
Pertaulighur,  city,  ii.  61;  cold  and 

frosi,  lb. 
Peshaiver,  village,  i.  497. 
Pharsali,  village,  i.  501. 
PigeOiis,  i.  501. 
Pilgritns  to  ihe  Ganges,  i.  370;  to 

Mecca,  371;  another,  409;  to  Aj- 

m.'re,  ii.  26;  join  the  caravan,  18. 
Pillibheet,  rice,  i.  430. 
Pindarries,  incursions  of,  508;  de- 

pi  edations,  515;  oppression,  ii.  72. 
Pinf  -apples,  wild,  u.  176. 
Pirpies,  Arab,  ii.  248. 
Pit  land,  town,  ii.  124;  visit  from 

Kamdar,  ib.;  presents  exchang- 
ed, 125. 
Plaintain,  i.  42. 
Poet,  native,  i.  69. 
Poetry,  i.  177,  179. 
Point  de  galle,   ii.    172;   climate, 

173;  confirmation,  174;  departure 

•from,  lb  ;  return  to  and  embarka- 

cion  from,  206. 
Pckur,  Hindoo  temple,  ii:  27. 
Pf  litical  state  of  India,  ii.  249. 
Ponies,   sagacity   of,     424;    break 

loose,  513. 
Poor,  collection  for,  i.  71. 
Poonah,  ii.  160;  country,  161;  city, 

161^,   illness   at,    160;   departure 

trom,  165. 
Pcofiah,  Peishwah  of,  ii.  161. 
Poppies  first  seen,  ii.  36;  again,  ii. 

?2.  61;  injured  by  frost,  ii.  62. 
Porjjoises,  i.  171;  again,  i.  172. 
Portuguese    in     Calcutta,    i.    67; 

•churches,  ib.;  complexion,  i.  79. 
Potatoes  in  Bengal,  i.  47. 
Precious  stones,  ii.  203. 
Pre'idency  separated,  ii.  306. 
Propaganda  Society,  i.  104 
Protection  afFoided   the  bishop   in 

his  long  journeys,  ii.  312. 
Provisions,  dearness  of,  ii.  85. 
Pritny,  village,  i.  424. 
Pudda  one  name  of  the   Ganges, 

i.  167. 
Puharrees,  i.  187;  school,  195;  no 


INDEX. 


397 


castes,  196;  features,  ib.;  charac- 
ter, 198;  resemble  the  Welch, 
199:  religion,  ib.:  festivals,  ib.: 
vaccination,  201:  oath,  climate, 
202:  unprejudiced,  ib.:  mentioned 
again,  415. 

Puller,  Sir  Christopher,  his  death, 
i.  98:  again,  ii.  260:  character, 
ib. 

Puller,  Lady,  returns  home,  ii.  260. 

Pundit  at  Kemaoon,  i  421 :  his  dis- 
course on  astronomy  and  Geogra- 
phy, ib. 

Funt  Ka  Peepul,  i.  428. 


R. 


Radha,  burden  of  a  song,  i.  118. 

Rahoo,  a  large  fish,  i.  116. 

Rain,  providential,  i.  314.  again, 
456. 

RajmahalhWls,  i.  182;  again,  184; 
town  185:  sort  of  Tyrol,  196;  de- 
scribed, 202. 

Rajpootana  distressed,  ii.  55. 

Rajpoots,  i.  45;  use  the  affix  of 
Singh,  481 ;  boy  wishes  to  accom- 
pany the  bishop  400:  chief,  512; 
their  character,  ii.  5?;  good  horse- 
men, n  ;  their  strings  and  medals, 
20;  described,  21. 

Rama  and  Seeta,  festival  of,  i.  394. 

Hamghvr,  i  407;  peopie  described, 
ib.;  idolatry,  and  religious  beg- 
gars, 408;  quarrel  W'th  Goornash- 
ta,  ib. 

i?aw?g/wr  village,  i.  .511;  entrance 
to  the  castle  refused,  ib. 

Rampoir,  i    442. 

Raper  Colonel  F.  V  509;  leaves 
Jyepoor,  ii  11 ;  attends  the  bishop 
to  Faneraiy,  17. 

Rats,  i.  421. 

Receipt  for  horses,  i.  367. 

Reynell,  General,  i.  454;  assigns 
siygeon  to  the  bishop,  ib. 

Reichardt,  Rev.  re-ordained,  ii 
341. 

Religion  in  Ceylon,  ii.  206. 

Reynell,  Major  James,  maps,  i. 
108;  discrepancies,  114.  129. 
149.  174. 

Rhadicant  Deb,  i.  12;  his  opinion 
of  female  schools,  ii.  236. 

Rhr.naghat.  i.  107. 

Rhinoceroses,  i.  329;  again,  ii.  97. 


Rhoders,  ii.  207. 

Ribband-men    in   Ireland,   i.    163; 

Rice  not  nourishing,  i.  47;  the  most 
valuable,  172;  inferior,  178;  in 
Okul  Doonga,  430 

Rich,  the  late  Claudius  James,  i. 
328. 

RiENZE,  Chevalier,  ii  149. 

RiCKETTs,  Mr,  Mordaunt,  resident 
at  Lucknow,  i.  319;  message 
from;  323;  introduces  the  bishop 
to  the  King  of  Oude,  \.  334.  acts 
as  chaplain,  348. 

Rivers  in  Ceylon,  ii.  204;  families 
on  them,  ib. 

Robbery,  increase  of,  i.  163;  alarm 
of,  ii   18;  preparations  against,  ib. 

Robertson  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Thomas,  presents  a  memorial,  i. 
275;  the  bishop's  answer,  Chli- 
nar,  ib, 

Robinson,  Rev.  Thomas,  at 
Pnonah,  ii.  162;  accompanies  the 
bishop  to  Ceylon,  170:  to  Mad- 
ras, 208;  reads  with  the  bishop 
to  the  sick  in  the  *  Bussorah  Mer- 
chant," 332. 

Rodney,  Honourable  John,  in  Cey- 
Ion,  ii.  176;  again,  204. 

Rohilcund,  conquest  of,  i.  363;  tu- 
mults in,  ii  279.  281. 

Rohillas  under  British  government, 
i.  364;  insurgents,  ib.;  anecdote 
of  chief,  ib.;  soil  and  climate,  365. 

Roman  Catholics,  number  and  char- 
acter of,  ii.  288;  again,  357. 

RoMER,  Mr.  ii.  1.34. 

Rooh,  fish  described,  i.  231- 

RoTTLER,  Rev.  Dr  ii.  213.  846. 

Roy,  Rev.  Wm.,  senior  chaplain  at 
Madras,  ii.  212 

Ruderpoor,  i.  393;  misery,  395; 
visit  from  magistrate,  i.  ib. ;  an- 
nual conflagration,  i.  396. 

Rvperra  village,  i.  132. 

Rushes,  long,  i.  114. 


Sddras  town,  ii.  220. 

Saees,  death  of,  ii.  63. 

Sago-palm,  i.  70. 

Sali-'^a  village,  ii.  130. 

Salmon,  Capt  ,  i.  324.;  his  suwars, 

324:  escorts  the  bishop  through 

Luckuow,  351. 


398 


INDEX. 


Salsette,  coast  of,  ii.  137;  island, 
142. 

Salt-water  lake,  i.  57. 

Saltpetre,  i.  83;  monopoly  of  salt,  ii. 
254. 

Saltara.  Rajah  of,  ii.  165. 

Sam,  Mr.,  Armenian,  ii.  214. 

Sambvr,  salt  lake  of,  ii.  20. 

Sandheads  the  bisliop  proceeds  to,  ii. 
209. 

Sandys,  Capt.  Fred.  Hervey,  ii.  29. 

Sandee,  i.  347;  dangerous  for  travel- 
leis,  ib. 

Sanscrit  taught  in  Hindoo  colleges, 
ii.  300. 

Sansoni,  Mr.  n.  173;  accompanies  tlie 
bishop,  ^04;  returns  home,  206. 

Smigar,  island  of,  j.  41;  again,  ii.  223. 
lightning  at,  ib. 

Sntva  town,  ii.  50:  drunken  men,  ib 

Salvers,  Mr.,  receives  the  bishop  at 
Ca7idy,  ii.  193. 

Schwartz,  rnissio.iary,  ii.  348;  his  la- 
bours and  character,  355;  guardian 
to  the  Tinja  of  Tgnjore,  ib.;  monu- 
ment to.  356. 

Scorpions,i.276;  bite,  ii.  122;  again.  202 

Scott,  Mr.,  i.  439;  Scott  Sir'W.  325; 
again,  ii.  13. 

Sea  snakes,  ii.  169;  horror  of  sea,  87. 

Secmidra,  i.  435. 

Secrole,  i.  248;  chapel,  249;  case  of 
native  convert,  ib.  mission-school, 
250. 

Seeia  Coom^  i.  205. 

Seidpoor,  i,  244. 

Seiks,  i  492. 

SeU-immolation  by  drowning,  i.261. 

Sepoy  regiments  recruited  from  Ba- 
har^  i.  88. 

Sepoy's  scruples  about  caste,  i.  14^ 
gratitude  of,  353;  desertion  of  one, 
SCO;  sickness,  ib.  carelessness.  >88 
Volunteer  to  go  to  AJmoy^ak,  400; 
two  accompany  the  bishop,  403; 
hardiness,  425;  like  children,  426; 
one  sick  at  Moradabad,  439;  one 
killed,  ii.  38:  his  children,  ib.;  two 
ill;  129  derivation  of  the  word, 
108. 

Serai  described,  i.  311;  lodgers  in, 
described,  ii.  134. 

Serampoor,  i.  60;  described,  76. 

Serpent,  ii.  166. 

Shaddock,  described,  i.  42. 

Shahjehanpoor,  frontier  of  Onde,  i. 
362;  described,  ib.;  common  name, 
449. 

Shakespeare,  M.  C.  his  rope  bridges, 


i.  86— S;  at  Be7iarest  and  for  the 

Caramnasa. 
Shark,  escape  from,  ii.  211. 
Shaw,  Colonel,  i.  197. 
Shawl-goat,  i.  420. 
Sheeshghur,    Raja    of,    visits   the 

Bishop,    i.    383;   drought,   381: 

Nach  women,  382. 
Shipley,  Very  Rev.  Dean,  letters  to, 

ii.  233.  249. 
Shipley,  Rev.  Charles,  letter  to,  ii. 

353." 
Shore,  Hon.  F.  J.,  bravery  of,  i.  375. 
Sibnibashf'y  i.  IDS:  ruins,  pagoda, 

and  palace,  108-109:  the  bishop 

visits  Raja  Omichund.  i.  110-111. 
Sick  servant,  i.  309:  carriedby  wo- 
men, .310. 
Sidigully,  i.  188. 
Sikh  travelling,  i.  408. 
Sikre^  Casirn  Ali  Khan,  Nawab  of, 

i.  477. 

Simms,  Mr.,  Moradahad,  i.  440. 

Simpson,  Mrs.,  her  school,  i  230. 

Sindia,  i.  512;  dii  JVeemuch,  ii  52; 
his  sepoys,  25:  benefactor  to 
tomb  at  Jljmere,  26:  at  Pokur, 
27:  his  towns  in  Chizerat,  78. 

Singhi  Raja,  relics  of  at  Cajidy,  ii. 
198. 

Sircar  described,  i.  54. 

Siva,  temple  to,  at  Chittore,  ii,  47: 
minarets,  49. 

Skinner,  Col.  cavalry,  i.  456:  gives 
money  for  a  church,  jb.  his  es- 
cort accompany  the  bishop  to 
JVusseerahad,  ii.  4. 18 :  his  horse- 
men, 157. 

Slavery  illegal,  i.  59:  Slave  Island, 
ii.  181. 

Smith  from  Yorkshire,  i.  307, 

Smith,  Dr  H.,  appointed  the  Bish- 
op, i.  455:  gives  opium  to  sepoys, 
ii.  20:  his  death,  347. 

Snake  in  the  cabin,  i.  230:  account 
of  one,  ib. 

Society  in  the  upper  provincft,  ii, 
28.5. 

Solomon,  Shekb,  tomb   of,  i.   49.S 

Sooty,  or  Moorshedabad  river,  i. 
181. 

Soubahdar  goes  to  Bindrobtmd,  i. 
481 :  his  attention,  509;  illness  and 
death,  ii.  75. 

Southern  India,  accounts  from,  ii. 
93. 


INDEX. 


399 


Southey,  his  Padalon,  i.  44:  croco- 
dile island,  138:  his  "Oliver 
Newman,"  ii.    345. 

Spinning  wheels,  i.  436. 

Spirits,  bad  effects  of,  on  troops,  ii. 
209. 

Squirrel,  Indian,  i.  75:  flying,  420. 

Storm  on  the  river,  i.  104. 

Stowe,  Rev.  Martin,  arrival,  i.  95: 
accompanies  the  Bishop,  101; 
wades  in  a  marsh,  139:  illness,  j 
142;  his  death,  152:  again  men-  | 
tioned,  ii.  266:  burial,  26*9 :  inter- 
est excited  by,  270:  reflections  on 
his  death,  271. 

Stowe,  Miss,  letter  to,  ii.  271. 

Student  in  the  Vindalaya,  i.  266. 

Street  preaching  condemned,  i.  265. 

Sudder  Adawlut,  i.  bQ'.Dewannee, 
ii.  254. 

Sugar  cane,  plantations  of,  i.  51: 
mill  at  Boitpoor,  i.  438:  sugar, 
443:  canes  and  mills,  510;  mills, 
ii.  63;  extensive  cultivation  of, 
294:  assertion  made  in  Parlia- 
ment, ib. 

Suicide,  i.  241. 

Sumeru  mountain,  i.  415. 

Sumatra  ape,  ii.  152. 

Sunday  regarded  by  the  Hindoos,  i. 
431. 

Sunderbunds,  i.  44;  termination  of, 
57. 

Sunnite  sect,  ii.  59;  quarrel  with 
Boras,  ii.  60. 

Sunn  hemp,  i.  124. 

Supta  Sati  translated,  i.  94. 

Supreme  Court,  ii.  254. 

Sural  city,  ii.  134:  society,  135: 
church  consecrated,  ib  ;  school, 
137. 

Suromonuggur,  dispute  at,  i.  357; 
fortress,  340;  trout  stream,  351. 

Suspension  bridge,  i.  417. 

Suttee  described,  i.  80;  difference 
of  opinion,  81,  82,  described, 
240:  not  common  in  Delhi,  479 

Suwarrs  levy  "black  mail,"  i.  374. 

Swinging  described,  i.  98. 


Tage  Mahal,  i.  488:  again,  ii.  293. 

Talipot  palm,  ii.  174. 

Tamarind  tree,  native  opinion  of, 

i.  356. 
Tambresra,    village,   ii.    76;   visit 

from  the  Raja,  ib. 
Vol.  II. 


j  Tandah,  i.  382 .  386 :  description  of, 

I      397. 
Tanjore,  Rajah    of,   ii.   354:   the 
bishop  offers  to  take  his  son,  355; 
his  support  of  Christian  schools, 
356;  a  pupil  of  Schwartz,  ib. 

Tanks,  i.  47 

Tunnah,  town,  ii.  144;  consecra- 
tion of  church,  167. 

Taptee  river,  ii.  134. 

Tara-palm  planting,  i.  215. 

Taxes,  local,  i.  142;  appropriation, 
li.  240. 

Taylor,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  H.  G- 
A.  Madras,  ii.  212. 

Tea  plant  m  Kemaoon,  i.  430. 

Tkignmouth,  Lord,  i.  114. 

Tekaria,  village,  ii.  130. 

Temple  in  a  tree,  1.  192. 

Temple  neacJyepoor,  i.  521;  in  Cey- 
Ion,  ii.  198. 

Terrai,  unhealthy  season  in,  i.  384; 
wild  animals  leave  it,  385;  ap- 
proach to  the  forests,  ib.;  "es- 
sence of  owl,"  ib.  inhabitants,  ib,,; 
unhealthiness,  439. 

TerriaguUy,  pass  of,  i.  206. 

Thakoors  in  carts  drawn  by  oxen, 
ii.  20. 

Thibit,  bishop  of,  i.  6Q. 

Thief  in  the  tent,  i.  579. 

Thomas  St.,  Mount,  ii.  216;  Apos- 
tle martyred  there,  ib. 

Thomason,  Mrs  ,  i.  64. 

Thornton,  Mr.  John,  letters  to,  ii. 

'     241.  307. 

Thread  of  caste,  i.  45;  of  brahmins, 
48.  14.^. 

Thrush  in  Kemaoon,  i.  419. 

Tliugs  described,  i.  450. 

Tic  Polonga,  ii.  202. 

Tighree,  i.  445;  celebrated  hunting 
ground,  446. 

TUlhier,  village,  i.  366. 

Tingypoor,  village,  i.  194. 

Tlperah,  i.  150. 

Tltybania,  village,  i.  125. 

Titty-ghur  house,  i.  80. 

Tobacco,  i.  369. 

Todd,  Mr.  David,  Dacca,  his  con- 
duct, ii.  270. 

Todd,  Capt.  beloved  by  natives,  ii. 
34;  at  Kotah  35;  at  Bheehvara,Z7. 

Toglikabad,  ruins  of,  i.  475. 

Tolly^s  nullah,  i.  57. 

Toon  tree,  i.  127;  dye  from,  428, 
426.     ' 
34 


400 


INDEX. 


Tooheyy  in  Salsetie,  described,  ii. 
142. 

Traill,  Mr.  George  William,  at 
Almorah,  serids  his  pony,  i.  398; 
meets  the  bishop,  413;  loves  and 
is  beloved  by  natives.  423,  447. 

Tiavellinoj,  manner  of,  ii.  291. 

Tkimbuk-Jee,  described,  i.  270; 
escape  from  Tannah,  485;  ii.  145. 

Travancore,  accounts  from,  ii.  214. 

Trout  in  ITemaoon,  i.  399;  at  Ram- 
ghur,  407. 

Turquoises,  ii.  169. 

Tusseeldar  drawn  by  bullocks,  i. 
484. 

Tylepoor  village,  i.  442. 

Tygers  in  Kemaoon,  \  380;  pea- 
santry fight  them,  380;  hunt,  390, 
392,  393;  at  the  Himalaya  gla- 
ciers, 420;  tamed,  446;  near 
Luneewarra,  ii.  61;  kills  a  Bheel, 
ib.;  hunting,  97;  abound,  107;  one 
crosses  the  path,  66. 

Tynybania  village,  i.  133. 

Tytler,  Dr.  Monghyr,  i.  211. 

U. 

l/meer,  excursion  to,  ii.  11;  palace, 
12. 

Umeerghur,  town,  ii.  39;  manufac- 
ture, ib.;  besieged,  ib. 

V. 

Valley  of  Death,  i.  396. 
Vanrenen,  General,  Bareilly,  i.  373. 
Veangodde,  -Ceylon,  ii.  188.  201. 
l^era,  village,  ii   142 
Veddahss^  tribe  in  Ceylsti,  ii.  195. 
Vepery,  church  at,  ii.  213. 
Vidalaya,  college,  i.  261. 
Vignetl^e  described,  ii.  258. 
Vigilant,  ketch,  embarcation  on,  ii. 

137. 
Village   described,  i.    48;  another, 

49;  round  Calcutta,  ii.  252. 
Viragies,  college  of,  i.  507. 
Vishnu,     incarnation     of,    i.     137; 

temple,  ii  218. 
Vishvagesa,   defilement  of,  i.   257; 

sacred  well,  258. 
Visitation,  ii.  318. 
Vultures,  i.  193. 

W. 

Wade,  Captain,  Lucknow,  i.  464. 
Walker,  Major,  Baroda,  ii.  68;  pro- 
Cession  of  girls  to  thank  him,  ib. 


Walbeoffe,  Mr.  Colombo^  sends 
cinnamon  peelers,  ii.  179. 

Wallich,  Mr.,  his  character,  i.  73; 
again,  80;  ii.  243;  again,  328. 

Warakapole,  station,  ii.  191. 

Ward,  Rev.  Mr.,  Baddagame,  ii. 
204;  again,  322. 

Warner,  Mr.  Edward  Lee,  Furreed- 
poor,  house  and  garden,  i.  162; 
Gaol  calendar,  164;  library,  162. 

Wars,  horrors  of  native,  ii.  126. 

Wasps,  i.  276. 

Watchmen  to  frighten  birds,  i.  193. 

Water-pump,  i  129;  bad,  supposed 
to  cause  fever,  388;  mill,  404. 

Wells,  mode  of  sinking,  i.  497. 

Weaving,  i  437. 

West,  Sir  Edward,  ii.  170. 

Wheat  brought  into  Rohilcund,  i 
370. 

Wicker-bound  graves,  ii.  354. 

Wild  dogs,  i.  421. 

Williams,  Mr.,  Moradahad,  i.  440, 

Williams,  Mr.,  Delhi,  458. 

Williams,  Mr.  James,  Baroda^ 
meets  the  bishop,  ii.  96;  intro- 
duces native  officers,  97;  kind- 
ness, 106;  accompanies  the  bi- 
shop out  of  Baroda,  ib.;  his  hur- 
karu,  85. 

Williams,  Miss,  ii.  98. 

Williamson,  Mr.  Thomas,  Kaira?t, 
meets  the  bishop,  ii.  108;  account 
of  the  Bheels,  109. 

Willow  from  Buonaparte's  grave. 
ii.  152. 

Wilmot,  Mr.,  Colombo,  ii.  188. 

Wilson,  Mrs.  i.  71;  again,  ii.  235. 

Woman  bathing,  i.  214. 

Women  of  short  stature,  ii.  64. 

Wuerh,  town,  i.  504;  suburbs,  ib.: 
city,  506. 

Wynn,    Right,  Hon.   Charles   W. 
Williams,    Dedication,    preface,, 
iii.    letters   to,  ii.  223.  228.  256 
260.  285.  848. 

Y. 

Yak,  or  Thibet  cow,  i.  415.  420. 

Yogi,  imitation  of  by  Dandee,  i.  13T; 
tames  a  tyger,  445;  hermitage, 
448;  at  Umeer,  ii.  12;  another, 
125. 

Z. 

Zalim  Singh,  character  ii.  32;  offer 

to  Colonel  Monson,  ib. 
Zemindars,  i.  89;  visit  of  one,  i.  304 
Zemindarries,  ii.  252, 


GLOSSARY. 


ABDAR,  water  cooler. 

Acbar,  native  newspaper. 

Adigar,  minister. 

Admee,  man. 

Ap,  your  honour. 

Avatar,  incarnation. 

Aumeen,  collector  of  revenue. 

Aya,  maid,  or  nurse. 

Baboo,  Hindoo  title,  answering  to 
our  esquire. 

Bandy,  gig  or  cart. 

Bangle,  bracelet. 

Begah,  land  measure,  diflfering  all 
over  India. 

Begum,  princess. 

Belathee,  foreign. 

Bhat,  bard. 

Bheestie,  water  carrier. 

Bholiah,  row-boat,  covered  over  at 
one  end. 

Boolee,  large  well. 

Boosa,  camel's  food. 

Brinjarries,  carriers  of  grain. 

Bucher,  young  one. 

Budgerow,  large  cabined  boat. 

Buksbish,  present. 

Bullum,  spear. 

Burkandaz,  inferior  police  officer. 

Burra,  great. 

Bundur,  harbour. 

Bungalow,  a  cottage,  made  of  bam- 
boo and  mats  with  very  project- 
ing thatched  roof. 

Bunyan,  trader. 

Cazi,  Mussulman  judge. 

Caranchie,  native  carriage. 

Charun,  bard. 

Chattah,  umbrella. 

Chopdar,  bearer  of  silver  mace. 

Chokey.  chair,  gaol,  or  toll-house. 

Chokeydar,  watchman. 

Chopper,  thatched  roof. 

Chota,  little. 

Choultry,  Hindoo  name  for  a  resting 
place  for  travellers. 

Chudda,  sheet,  or  veil. 

Chumar,  leather-dresser. 

Chunam,  lime. 

Chuprassie,  police  guard. 

Chowry,  whisk,  for  driving  off  flies. 

Clashee,  tent-pitcher  or  manager  of 
sails. 

Cofilah,  caravan. 

Coir,  coco-nut  fibre. 

Colly,  creek. 

Coolie,  porter. 

Coomer,  crocodile. 


Coss,  about  two  miles. 

Cummerbund,  sash. 

Culwal,  magistrate. 

Dak,  post. 

Dandee,  boatment. 

Daroga,  superintendent. 

Decoit,  river  pirate. 

Dewan,  a  prime  minister,  and  soDie- 
times  an  agent. 

Dewul,  temple, 

Dhoolie,  litter. 

Dhurna,  mourning. 

Dooab,  a  tract  of  country  betweer^ 
two  rivers. 

Duffuldar,  officer. 

Dustoor,  custom. 

Durbar,  a  court  where  a  levee  is 
held. 

Durwan,  gate  keeper. 

Fakir,  religious  mendicant. 

Ferinjee,  European. 

Firman,  royal  order. 

Foujdar,  commander. 

Gaowala,  cow-man. 

Ghat,  in  the  east,  a  landing  place; 
in  the  west  and  south,  a  pass  of 
a  mountain,  or  a  range  of  moun- 
tains. 

Ghee,  rancid  butter. 

Ghureele  purndar,  poor  man's  pro- 
vider. 

Gool,  small  channel. 

Goomashta,  agent  or  master. 

Gossain,  Hindoo  hermit. 

Gram,  a  kind  of  vetch. 

Guicwar,  sovereign. 

Hackery,  native  cart.. 

Hagie,  saint. 

Hamaul,  bearer. 

Hanjar,  Persian  scymitar. 

Havildar,  officer  in  the  army. 

Hooka,  pipe. 

Hat'hee,  elephant. 

Koolee,  a  famous  Hindoo  festival  to- 
commemorate  the  beginning  of  a. 
new  yeer ;  it  is  held  in  the  vernal 
equinox. 

Hovvdah,  seat  on  an  elephant. 

Hurkiiru.  messenger. 

Hurrumzadu,  rascal. 

Muz'ior,  your  presence. 

JaL;hire,  estate  assigned  by  Goveru- 
ment. 

Jugliiredar,  person  holding  a  jaghire. 

.leel,  swamp,  or  ytiallow  lake. 

Jeinautdar.  officer  in  the  army,  head 
man  oT  a  village,  or  house  servant. 

Jin,  saddle. 


402 


GLOSSARY. 


Juldee,  quick. 

Jungle,  thicket. 

Kalean,  Persian  pipe. 

Kamdar,  governor. 

Kayt,  writer. 

Khansaman,  steward. 

Khelat,  honorary  dress. 

Khitinutgar,  footman. 

Kibla,  the  pniut  where  Mussulmans 

turn  to  pruy. 
Killedar.  governor  of  a  fort. 
Kincob,  brocade. 
Lac,  one  hundred  thousand. 
Lebada,  cloak. 
Log,  people. 
Lugana,  to  make  fast. 
Lungoor,  baboon. 
MaUk,  master. 
Maharaja,  great  king. 
Manjee,  steersman. 
Marabout,  holy  man. 
Meidan,  plani. 
Messaia,  mess. 
Mobarak,  lucky. 
Mohout,  elephant-driver. 
Mohur,    a  gold   coin  worth  sixteen 

rupees  in  Bengal. 
Meodelier,  naiive  magistrate, 
Moonshee,  teacher. 

Moonee,  inspired  [jerson. 

Moullah  Mahometan  priest. 

Muktar,  chamberlain  or  prime-minis- 
ter. 

Musnud,  throne. 

Mussaul,  torcli. 

Mussaulchie,  torch-bearer. 

]Mut,  obelisk. 

Alutwala,  dnmkard. 

Naick,  corpiiral. 

Nacoda,  captain  of  a  vessel. 

J^agari,  great  keltle-drutn. 

Nullah,  brook,  or  small  branch  of  a 
river. 

Nuddee,  streamlet. 

Nuzzur,  offering. 

Paddy,  rice  iu  the  husk. 

Pagoda,  Hindoo  place  of  worship. 

Palkee,  palanqaeen. 

Panchway,  passage-boat. 

Pawn,  the  imi  ofthc  areca  palm  lime, 
and  spice,  wrapped  in  a  betel  leaf, 
and  chewed  by  the  natives. 

PeetH,  siring. 

Peishwa,  suvereign. 

Perguiuiah,  the  largest  division  of 
land  in  a  zeinindaiy. 

Peon,  messenger. 

Petarrah,  wicker  basket. 

Ptttah,  naiive  town  near  a  fort. 
I'ice,  copper  coin. 


Potall  head  man  of  a  Tilla^Ci 

Pooja,  worship. 

Poor,  town. 

Pucca,  brick. 

Pulwar,  large  boat. 

Punchaet,jury  of  five  men. 

Put»ka,  large  wooden  board  suspen- 
ded from  the  ceiling,  and  waved  to 
and  fi'o  by  ropes  :  also  a  fan. 

Puranas,  Indian  mythological  poems. 

Purwannu,  Government  order. 

Rais,  master  of  a  vessel. 

Ranne,  Hindoo  princess. 

Routee,  small  tent. 

Rnksut,  dismissal. 

Rutt,  car. 

Ryut,  peasant. 

Sahib,  lord. 

Saees,  groom. 

Sarbann,  camel-driver. 

Seer,  weight  of  about  two  poimds. 

Sherabdar,  butler. 

Serai,  Mussulman  place  of  rest  for 

travellers. 
Seraiig,  master  of  a  vessel. 
Singh,  lion. 

Sircar,  governor,  also  a  head  servant. 
Sitringee,  tent  carpet. 
Sirdar,  head  man  or  minister. 
Soodra,  a  Hindoo  caste,  composed 
of  cultivators,  mechanics,  and  ar- 
tisans. 
Sotaburdar,   bearer   of   the   silver- 
stick. 
Sudder  Adawlat,  court  of  justice. 
Sudder  Dewannee,  court  of  justice, 

Suwarree,  retinue. 

Suvvarrs,  horse-soldiers. 

Soubahdar,    officer  of  the  highest 
rank  in  the  army. 

Tank,  artificial  pond. 

Tanna,  police-officer. 

Tattee,  mat  made  of  cuscos-grass 

Tattoo,  pony. 

Thakoor,  lord  or  baron. 

Thannadar,  officer. 

Tindal,  tent-pitcher. 

Tope,  clump  of  trees. 

Ton  ion,  chair  with  a  head, 

Tu^seldar,  tacksman. 

Vakel,  envoy. 

Vedas,  Hindoo  Scriptures. 

Veddahs,  hunters, 

Viragies,  religious  mendicants. 

Yogi,  religious  mendicant. 

Zemindar,  holder  of  a  Zemindarry. 

Zemindarry,  province. 


DS412.H44V.2 

Narrative  of  a  journey  through  the  upper 


"^1012  00023  2225 


